Days and Times of Naruto
by Datchapin
Summary: Three yrs. of training are finaly complete and Naruto is back, what adventures await him. Pairings NaruHina, ShikaTemi. It's a long story.
1. Chapter 1

Ok, this is my first fic and I hope everybody enjoys it, it should get better as I go further along.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form (but if I did this is how it would go)

Oh before I forget this story takes place after the three yr timeskip.

THE CHAMP IS BACK

This story opens up with a view of Konoha, then shifts to the office of Godaime, (Tsunade) and we see her sitting behind her desk deep in thought. The door slowly opens and Sakura enters bringing Tsunade back to the real world. Sakura is now standing in front of her desk.

"Good morning Tsunade-sensei, you wanted to see me", Sakura asked.

"Yes, I had some news I thought you would want to know, Naruto and Jiraiya returned today, you...", she looked up but there was nobody in the room. Should take the rest of the day off she finished in her head, I wonder how shell react when she finally finds him. Tsunade thought back to the mornings events. Flashback.

Tsunade was standing outside her balcony when a shadow blocked out the sun when she looked up, it was the shape of a giant frog. She jumped out of the way just in time to avoid getting squashed by the giant orange frog on top of which sat Jiraiya. Which was immediately followed by a second large purple frog carrying Naruto, she avoided this one as well, but she couldn't avoid the anger that was starting to swell up inside of her.

"Well Naruto we're finally back Tsunade will be happy to see us wont she, by the way you owe me dinner for loosing this race."

"I didn't loose my frog jumped higher then yours thats all, if old lady hokages office was one floor higher you would have definitely lost ero-sennin.", neither noticed Tsunade standing close by and she was slowly getting angrier and angrier. Old lady, how dare that impudent brat. "I know I'll just give old lady hokage the ole' puppy-dog eyes and ask her for some money, she won,t refuse." Naruto let out a loud laugh.

With that they dismounted and the frogs disappeared in a puff of smoke. Yeah its good to be home Naruto thought, but what is this ominous feeling I'm getting like my life is in danger. A cold and evil voice from behind him said, "Hello Naruto, Jiraiya welcome home, baka!"

Bam, boom, thud. We see Tsunade going into her office leaving behind her Naruto and Jiraiya in a smoking heap and twitching. Back to the present.

Has it really been three years Sakura thought as she ran towards the Ichikaru ramen restaurant Naruto would surely be at. I wonder if hes matured, gotten stronger, got smarter oh I'm so happy Sakura thought. She arrived at the ramen shop, but Naruto wasn't there. He must be at home she thought and took off again. She saw him a few blocks from behind (he sure has gotten taller) carrying a box and ran at full speed to catch up to him.

"NARUTO, waaiiittt, it's me Sakura!", Naruto and the person he was walking with stopped and turned around. Yup still the same Naruto Sakura thought.

Sakura stopped in front of Naruto and caught her breath. Naruto handed the box of ramen to Konohamaru.

"Hey Sakura, how have you been, check this out I've mastered my rasengan", With that Naruto started gathering chakra and spinning it in his hand. Sakura seeing what he was doing had a flashback to his fight with Sasuke. She recognized that technique and the destruction it caused, Naruto was still being to reckless.

"Stop it Naruto!"

"Huh"

With his concentration broken chakra flew everywhere and hit Sakura in the face. Sakura was pissed and Naruto started feeling that same fear he felt when he first arrived.

"S-Sakura i-i-it was an ac-accident,I swear" Sakura threw a punch meant to take off Narutos head, and it made contact. Poof Sakuras punch went right through Naruto instead of sending him flying, it had been a clone all along. Poor Konohamaru, left all alone in the presence of a monster.

"Where is he Konohamaru!"

"He said he had to go on a mission to gather information and asked me to make sure this box of ramen got to his house, he sent that clone to accompany me. Thats all I swear." Konohamaru added in a tiny voice "Please don't kill me." but the big forehead monster was gone. Konohamaru sighed in relief and went on his way. Elsewhere.

Naruto was down on one knee in front of the wall thinking, all that training with Jiraiya-sensei, I will make you proud sensei, I will find the source of life. With that he took out a kunai and stood it on his palm with the ring on his palm and his other hand balancing it while he gathered chakra. He started making the kunai spin in his hand with the chakra and held it there while it sped up, he was using the first step of the Rasengan to get this effect. He put the spinning tip to the wall and pushed it in until he had made a hole the size he wanted it, he put away the kunai. He thought I won't fail this time and put his eye to the hole, a goofy grin starting to form on his face. What he saw on the other side was probably more than what a normal man could handle, but Naruto was trained for this he was rea...wait, he spotted two girls in the water who caught his attention at once. It was Ino and Tenten, a trickle of blood started to run from Naruto's nose Ino and Tenten sure had grownNaruto thought he didnt remember them lookingthe waythey did. Well that and he never peeped on them like this. They bothgot up with their backs to him and the water to their waist and that trickle became a stream. I can handle this he thought I can be better then ero-sennin all that training willfinally pa...then the unthinkable happened Ino and Tenten turned towards him at the same time. Blood gushers from his nose whipped his head back and he flew backwards a few feet. "I have failed again sensei, forgive me."

When he came around a few seconds later, Sakura was holding him by the scarf of his jacket. She had a giant pulsing vein on her forehead and the fear Naruto started feeling reminded him of that morning, but gee she sure did look cute when she was angry.

"H-h-hu-hi Sa-Saku-ra-ch-chan, le-long tu-time n-no c-s-see."

"Baka, baka, baka," , WHAM Sakuras fist made contact with Narutos face and sent him flying, poor guy it wasnt a clone this time, down the street.

Kakashi was walking along minding his own business when a whistling noise reached his ears. He turned to look and saw Naruto headed straight for him. He quickly analyzed the the situation and made his decision. He stepped to the side as Naruto flew past him and crashed into the wall. He got on his haunches and looked at Naruto. Naruto was out cold.

"Welcome home Naruto, looks like you need help getting home." He picked up Naruto and took him home. Back at the bathhouse.

Sakura was was thinking, did I overreact a little bit, (feel my wrath you scum.) At that moment Ino and Tenten stepped out of the bathhouse.

"Hi Sakura, how are you, did you hear yet, Shikamori told me Naruto is supposed to come back today" Ino said.

"I hadn't heard yet thanks" Sakura replied and walked off. Else where.

Hinata was waiting for Shino and Kiba to show up so they could make their way to practice. She wondered where they could be and decided to use her byakuggen to see if she could find them. Ok she thought I see them they are still two blocks away. She started playing with her fingers and decided to go for it. These last few years she had found it comforted her after all, and besides it's not like she was really peeping or anything. She activated her byakugen and found her favorite place, his apartment. There was something different though, she had done this before, many times, but this time the apartment felt different, she couldn't quite describe it, but it was definitely different. As she scanned the rooms she noticed there was somebody in Naruto's bed. She couldnt believe her eyes did someone break into his apartment or was he really back. She must have been dreaming, three years three long years could she finally tell him how she felt. Suddenly Naruto popped out of bed and she couldn't believe it. He was wearing such an adorable hat and only a muscle shirt. She knew she should look away but three years, her eyes wanted to see more. Naruto got out of bed and took off his muscle shirt. Nose gushers whipped Hinatas head back and she crumpled in a heap. Shino and Kiba turned the corner just in time to see their team mate drop. They ran towards her to see what was wrong but all they heard was a quiet little "to-kun...shirt" They gathered her up and took her home.

Ino found Shikamaru and Chougi relaxing under a tree waiting for her.

"Hey guys you guys wanna go see Naruto?"

"We already went Ino and he wasnt there, it would be troublesome if he wasnt there again, we'll wait until tomorrow, now lets train, I'll supervise." Ino was looking at Shikamaru with a pissed off face, why are women so troublesome Shikamaru thought.

On the outskirts of town Tenten meets with her team mates and tells Neji and Rock Lee about Naruto's return. Neji smiles a little bit, while Rock clenches his fist in front of him and pours rivers out of his eyes.

"This is wonderful news indeed, on this glorious day a great rivalry is reborn. This time I'm ready I will not loose." He starts throwing lightning fast punches and leaping from place to place. WHAM! His fist connects with a large boulder and he stops moving. A moment goes by and Tenten asks.

"You ok Rock" The stone disintegrates to show Rock Lee's fist pink and pulsing.

Flash to view of Konoha and surrounding forest. Yes peaceful Konoha, the calm is broken by a warriors ear splitting scream.

"My ffiiisssttt, my beautiful fist!"

Hope everyone enjoyed my first ch. if you have any suggestions and,or comments they are always welcome. Oh if you got good ideas for characters let me know I already have some in my head but new ideas are always welcome. Oh one more thing the comments in ( ) are Inner Sakura and or thoughts, and the characters remain true to the manga which is why I didnt describe him, I will put in descriptions for new characters.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok so here's the second ch. Sorry it took so long but I'm still getting used to this, plusI was really having a hard time picking a spot to stop so please bear with me well I hope you all enjoy this second chapter.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form but if I did this is how it would go.

Encounter

We open up with a view of the village of sand and go to the office of the kazekage. Temari is speaking with the kazekage and reminiscing about all the changes that have happened since he came to power. The number of ninja in the village was slowly starting to rise, relations with the feudal lord were improving, the allegiance to Konoha was also improving and what she still could not sometimes bring herself to believe is that these changes were being brought about by Gaara. She saw the battle between Gaara and Naruto but the change in Gaara was nothing short of a miracle. She still doesn't know exactly what Naruto did to change him but she was glad.

"So Temari, I take it your team is ready to take the exams this year in Konoha. Who do you think we should send to deliver our list to Konoha?", Gaara asked his sister and waited for the response he noticed Temari reacted every time Konoha was mentioned and he was interested to see her reaction. Will she blush this time, Gaara wondered.

"I should be the one to take it, Kankouru is on a mission and my subordinates deserve a break. Besides I think its important Konoha receives the list from someone who they are accustomed to." Temari tried not to show any emotion, but she could feel herself starting to blush. Dammit she thought why do I always blush like this when I think of Shika.

"So be it, will Hirai stay here while you're gone?" So she did blush, every time I mention Konoha she reacts the same way what is she thinking Gaara thought to himself.

"We'll see, if that's all I'll be leaving now." with that she got up and started towards the door.

Outside the doors in the hall stood a young ninja. She stood maybe two or three inches shorter than Temari, she has redish brown hair pulled back into two ponytails that looked similar to Temari's only larger and appear a little bit above the ear when you look at her from the front. Her eyes are of a golden color and have a marking more like a line on the outside corner of her eyes running down like a trail of tears giving her a sad appearance. She wears a black sleeveless shirt with a collar reaching up to her chin so that when she looks down the collar hides her small mouth. The shirt stops above her bellybutton though, and reveals the long sleeve fishnet shirt she wears underneath. She wears brown shorts that reach down to her knees, and normal ninja sandals. Above her wrists she wears custom made bracelets that bear the sand villages insignia, each of these bracelets holds a kodachi that does not have a guard separating the blade and the handles. Temari steps through the doors and looks at her young subordinate. Although Hirai was two years younger than Temari her skills were almost on the same page plus there was that other thing.

"What is it Hirai?" Temari asked. She still couldn't read her pupil accurately and had no idea what to expect most of the time.

"Can I accompany you on your mission, I could be your escort." Hirai asked calmly. (Please don't leave me Temari-sensei I want to see the world too! No rephrase that I _need_ to see the world, you wouldn't leave poor little ole' me behind would you sensei?)

"What, umm no, I'm sorry, I can't bring you with me." Temari was caught off guard she was still often surprised by Hirai's information gathering skills and stealth. That she was undetected listening in to her and Gaara's conversation was no easy feat.

"What will I do while you're away" Hirai asked calmly. ( How dare you leave me sensei don't you love me anymore, how could you leave me like this. Inner Hirai looked like she was on the verge of tears.)

"You should talk to Gaara he may have some errands for you to run." With that Temari turned and left.

"Hai" Hirai quietly said to Temari's back. ( Inner Hirai was ecstatic with hearts in her eyes, yes sensei I will travel to cloud nine for you) and turned to enter Gaara's office.

We now turn our eyes to Konoha specifically Naruto's apartment. We see his hat poking out of the blankets. Suddenly they twitch and Naruto lets out a series of sneezes. "Somebody must be talking about me" he groggily says. He starts thinking about waking up Jiraiya before he realizes where he's at. A smile breaks out so wide it splits his face in half and starts getting ready for the day. He goes to his restroom and takes care of his hygiene and then he just stares at himself in the mirror hardly believing he's home. He took off his shirt and studied his body, well not to bad he thought to himself. His body hadn't bulked up a great deal but it had definitely become more defined his chest and arm contours were clearly visible and hints of a six pack were beginning to show. He quickly gets dressed and heads to the kitchen, where a box of ramen awaits him.

"Aregato Konohamaru, hope he didn't have to much trouble bringing me this box. I should ask him when I see him." He opened up the box and made two bowls which took longer cooking than disappearing. Naruto then repacked his backpack and began to set out to Konoha. Oh he thought I cant forget my book, he thought. He went and got a book and opened it up. It was a book that helped identify girls bra sizes, he turned to the back of the book and thought about Ino and Tenten. Ino was definitely a size C and Tenten a B. He tried to remember Sakura but that memory was really hazy considering he lost consciousness before he could get a good look at her body. He closed the book and put it in his backpack. He thought to himself I seem to be forgetting somebody but who could that be, oh well I'll remember it later. He then walked out the door. Elsewhere.

Hinata had gotten to the spot where her episode happened yesterday and was once again waiting on Kiba and Shino. She was alternating between playing with her hair and poking her fingers together. All she could think about what had happened yesterday. She had officially lost her sanity or so she thought. She didn't know what to do but there was only one way to know for sure if her hallucination had truly been a hallucination. She wasn't sure of how far Kiba and Shino were but her sanity depended on this. She turned on her byakugaan and once again looked to Narutos apartment. At first she only scanned the rooms slowly but the search became more frantic as she began to convince herself that it really had been a hallucination. The apartment was just as it had been before yesterday, empty. She didn't know which made her sadder, the fact that her hopes that he had returned had been crushed or the fact that she was loosing her mind and starting to hallucinate. She was so caught up in these thoughts that she didn't even sense the person who came up to her and tapped her on her shoulder.

Naruto's stepped out to greet the day and inhale the fresh Konoha air. Naruto didn't really have a plan for that day but he knew there were many things he wanted to do now that he had finally returned. He was walking down the street wondering where to start when he bumped into Chouji and crushed the bag of potato chips Chouji was carrying againts his body.

"What's wrong with...", recognition dawned on Chouji's face. " Naruto how have you been been, how was your first night back in Konoha?"

Naruto recognized his old friend because of the bag of chips he was carrying but not physically Chouji had really changed. "Chouji, wow you look so Chouji-like, ha ha ha." Naruto noticed Chouji wasn't laughing with him and quickly stopped. "Oh I guess you don't think that's funny huh. Well last night was great, thanks for asking it feels great to be back in Konoha. How's everything going with you and your team?"

"Well we're all doing good, me and Ino are chounin and Shikamarus a jounnin now. Matter of fact Shikamaru told us about your return and we came to see you yesterday, but you weren't home. Shikamaru is busy with the chounin exam preparations, he's going to be an examiner."

Naruto's jaw dropped to the floor "NANI, Shikamaru is a jounnin. I knew he passed the exam before I left but wow. Speaking of which I should talk to him about the exams I need to become a chounnin as soon as possible." Naruto had his chin in his hand thinking about the information he had just been given.

"Sorry to cut you short Naruto but I have an appointment I need to keep, we'll catch up with you later. Bye for now." Chouji patted Naruto on the shoulder and started walking.

Naruto absently said good-bye and started walking in the opposite direction. He was thinking about the exam. He stopped at the corner and drifted to the real world. He looked around and saw something that totally made him forget the exams. Standing there on the sidewalk was a really cute girl. He absently started walking towards her. That girl she wasn't just cute, she was beautiful. She had beautiful midnight blue hair that flowed past her shoulders and she wore a jacket. Naruto didn't get it the weather was great in Konoha yet this girl was wearing a jacket. That drew Narutos eyes because it was so out of place. Yet even the jacket couldn't completely hide the body's contours underneath. The legs and butt were also in great shape. As Naruto drifted closer he noticed her intense concentration and a sudden thought shot through his mind like lighting. OH MY GOD THAT'S HINATA. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes and kept walking towards her he stretched out his hand.

"Hi Hinata" Hinata was so shocked that she didn't notice someone so close to her that she reacted before any thought could cross her mind. She spun in the direction of the voice without turning off her byakugaan and saw right through Naruto's jacket and shirt. A little bit of blood dripped out of her nose as she turned her blood limit off and looked up to see who owned the body she had just seen. Her blood froze as she looked into that face, into those sky blue eyes where she thought she could get lost and she realized who she was staring at.

"H-Hinata"

Well as always comments are welcome hope you enjoyed this chapter, and gclp thank you for your review you have now officially been acknowledged as the first (and so far only) reviewer.

Next chapter I hope to add some more meat to the story so stay tuned.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok sorry for the wait everybody, and thanks for the reviews. Yeah gclp you get a prize you can read this longer chapter and my appreciation (hahaha) sorry I thought of a good joke. Umm even on the bridge of death there is always hope (why did you make your name so long) I'm sorry you feel that way I'll cut back on the bloody noses. Thank you for the corrections serene panda (I can admit it I suck at grammar, I'm sorry) Goshikku Seirei I got you covered boss, umm I'm not real good with mushy scenes but I'll try. Again thanks everyone for reviewing and enjoy the chapter.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form (but if I did this is how it would go)

**Thoughts**

"H-Hinata" Naruto looked worriedly at Hinata "Are you feeling ok?"

Hinata didn't know what to think. Naruto was standing right in front of her showing concern for her. How did he know I was loosing my mind Hinata asked herself. Never in his three year absence did she once picture this scenario in her mind. Naruto showing concern for her, seeing that her mind was troubled and wanting to help. Oh my god she thought as the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. This Naruto is a hallucination all her dreams were coming true so there's no way this Naruto is real. Is it so bad to totally loose your mind Hinata wondered. She reasoned that if she was crazy then at least this Naruto would keep her company, so being crazy couldn't be all that bad. Hinata's mind was racing, so what if she was a schizo this Naruto wasn't half bad, and she was sure life with a Naruto nobody else but she could see wouldn't be to bad. After all this Naruto had a great body, he cared about her, and seemed to be really attracted to her. Off in the distance she heard her own voice. "N-Naruto-Kun" and saw her hand reaching towards the hallucination. She fully expected her hand to go through his chest so when she made solid contact her mind went into shock. All the implications of what that touch meant came crashing down on her at once and the last conscious thought she had was; why did this happen to me.

Kiba and Shino were walking along with Akamaru discussing what had happened to Hinata yesterday. They really didn't know what the cause could have been, when they had found her she had just lost consciousness. Kiba jokingly patted the huge dog walking next to him and said, "Kinda reminds me of how she used to pass out when that Narutard was here, right Akamaru" Akamaru just barked and Shino made no comment, even though he suspected Naruto's return. When they walked around the corner to meet Hinata an unexpected sight awaited them.

Everything seemed to happen so fast for Naruto. Hinata looked up at him with a little bit of dried blood under her nose and her eyes momentarily widened. Then she reached out and poked his chest. What the hell is wrong with this girl Naruto wondered. She started falling and Naruto moved to try and catch her when he was hit hard from behind and knocked down.

"Hey you bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing!" Kiba yelled as Akamaru tackled the tall blond kid to the ground and pinned him down. "Who the hell do you think you.." Kiba looked over Akamaru's shoulder at the surprised looking ninja pinned under him with eyes like plates and instantly recognized him. Kiba started laughing uncontrollably.

Shino looked over and said "So it looks like a comrade has finally returned... Naruto."

Naruto looked up at the figures towering above him and became furious when he heard Kiba laughing. "What the hell is wrong with you two, this ain't no way to treat the future hokage! Get this beast off me!" Akamaru growled at Naruto, but he let Naruto get up. Kiba and Shino nodded at each other in understanding, they now knew what had happened to Hinata. Naruto had finally gotten up and walked over to Hinata and was checking on her. "What are you two doing can't you see Hinata is out cold? We need to get her medical attention." Naruto was kneeling next to Hinata lightly slapping her face and looking at Kiba and Shino with suspicion. Why aren't these two the least bit worried, this is their team mate on the ground after all.

"Naruto, it would be best if you brought her with us to an area that would facilitate her recovery." Shino said. Naruto and Kiba looked at Shino with utterly confused looks. A giant sweat drop formed on Shino's head and he pushed on. "Naruto, just pick her up and follow us. We're her teammates and know how to handle this situation." Naruto moved to do as Shino suggested and Kiba just kept staring at him in a confused manner. Poor Kiba,sometimes I think your thick mind is the only one that may surpass Naruto's clueless mind, Shino thought. Shino raised his hand to his face and made a shushing motion toward Kiba. Kiba nodded his head, even though he had no idea what was going on he pretended he did.

Naruto picked up Hinata and cradled her in his arms her head was between his arm and chest, he was holding her as carefully as he could. He looked down at her sleeping peacefully and was surprised at how pretty she looked, and how soft she felt in his arms. She felt so warm and it was starting to give him a tingly feeling holding her like that. He looked up and saw Kiba and Shino walking away and started following them. "Hey guys wait up" Naruto wanted to run, but with Hinata in his arms the best he could manage was a fast walk. "Hey, howcome I gotta carry Hinata huh, howcome we don't just put her on top of Akamaru?"

Kiba looked back and answered. " Because, dumbass Akamaru carried her yesterday."

"Don't call me a dumbass, dumbass!" Naruto yelled at him, Kiba and Shino ignored this. Well I guess I could carry her Naruto thought. After all this could be good exercise and maybe I could get information from these guys about the chuunin exam. There was a question he wanted to ask for the longest so this was a good a time as any. "Hey, why do you all wear jackets all the time anyways huh?"

"To each, his own reason, I wear mine to maintain a favorable environment for my inhabitants." Shino responded, Naruto wanted to ask about the hood he wore, but felt that might be pushing it.

"I wear my jacket to keep treats in for me and Akamaru." Kiba replied. That made sense to Naruto somewhat.

"What about Hinata, why does she wear a jacket?" Naruto asked, looking down at the figure in his arms.

"Dammit, Narutard ask her, why do you wear a jacket huh?" Kiba answered annoyed.

"It was just a question dammit you don't gotta get mad, besides isn't it obvious that this jacket is fit for a hokage that's why I wear it." Naruto responded sullenly surprised this wasn't obvious to them. "How bout those exams huh, any of you still have to take them?" Naruto asked.

Kiba burst out laughing. "You mean the upcoming chuunin exams, why would we take those we're all already chuunin" Naruto's face fell at these news it seemed everyone had left him behind. Even the girl in his arms it seemed. Kiba was still laughing. That bastard Naruto thought.

As they walked on Naruto heard a sharp intake of breath and looked around quickly to find the source of the noise. "Hey Kiba did you hear that?"

"Baka, you must be starting to hear things." Kiba said and kept walking alongside Akamaru. Naruto heard this sharp intakes of breath a few more times on the way to Kiba and Shino's preferred practicing area. He didn't mention it to Kiba or Shino though because he couldn't see the source of the noise and didn't want them to mock him if he really was starting to hear things. When they got to their destination Shino asked Naruto to place Hinata in a shady area under a tree and keep an eye on her while he and Kiba practiced. Naruto gladly complied and sat at a nearby tree with his elbows on his knees.

"No problem Shino, I'll just wait to see if she gets better and take a breather." Shino nodded and jumped into the trees to start training, Kiba had started training with Akamaru almost immediately upon reaching the practice area. Naruto looked at Hinata and thought, wow she looks so peaceful. He crossed his arms and was about to start drifting off. Poof suddenly a tiny figure appeared standing on Naruto's knee, it was a miniature Naruto wearing the Kohage robes, but no hat. "What are you doing Naruto" the little noble Naruto said. " You should get a glass of water for this poor girl or even make a clone to fetch someone to look at her, like Sakura or Tsunade." Naruto nodded his head, the noble mini-Naruto made sense. Poof on his other knee appeared another mini-Naruto this one dressed like Jiraiya this Naruto even had his blond hair fashioned like Jiraiya. "Baka, did you forget what those two did to you yesterday. Besides you have no idea if you'll be successful, so you'd just be wasting chakra." This mini-Naruto scolded, a mischievous grin appeared on his face "What you should do is take off her jacket. After all the girl needs to breathe, right. As a matter of fact maybe she suffered from heatstroke wearing that jacket." Naruto nodded, this mini-Naruto also made sense. Had anybody else been there they might have pointed out that Hinata's jacket wasn't that thick. Unfortunately Naruto was alone. The noble mini-Naruto seeing that he was once again loosing the battle did what Naruto was prone to do. "BAKA!" The noble mini-Naruto yelled and launched himself at the perverted mini-Naruto. Naruto simply watched as the noble mini-Naruto tackled the perverted mini-Naruto of his knee and onto the ground and they started fighting. Naruto noticed that the perverted Naruto had been coming out on top more often recently but he just told himself that was because that mini-Naruto made more sense.

"N-Naruto-kun" Hinata said. She had been conscious for a little while now but she had been gathering herself. It wasn't the first time she had regained consciousness either, but each time she found herself in Naruto's arms she couldn't handle it, she would just gasp and loose consciousness again. This time she came to lying under a tree she assessed her situation and went over the days events in her mind. Naruto had come back and she wasn't loosing her mind so at least that was good she thought. She couldn't believe she was still passing out around him so much though. He had held her in his arms and she had been unconscious, she was so mad at herself for that. Something that she had always thought about and when it really happened she slept through it. There he was though probably tired from watching over her she thought, she thought this because she noticed his head nod a couple of times. The very least she could do was at least thank him. That's when she decided to make the effort to talk to him. "Naruto-kun a-arigatou." she said quietly. Naruto seemed to come out of a daze.

"What did you say Hinata, I didn't catch that. Sorry the perver... eerrr..never mind." Naruto almost forgot that those mini-Naruto's were a figment of his imagination. A fact Jiraiya-sama pounded into Naruto every time he mentioned his perverted mini-Naruto to him. "So how are you feeling?" Naruto asked.

Hinata started to blush. (So he really is concerned about me) "I'm feeling fine, arigatou." She knew she could get through this, it was just a friendly conversation she told herself.

"I really worry about you Hinata, every time I see you, you pass out." Hinata heard a rejection gong and was in darkness. (the truth hurts, but at least I'm not passing out) "That's really weird Hinata, maybe you should stop wearing that jacket" the rejection gong sounded twice (did he just call me weird, and what's wrong with my jacket.) "Why do you wear that jacket?"

"Errr...umm" She didn't really know how to answer that, she didn't want to tell him it was because she wasn't confident about her body or that she really didn't know why she wore it. What would he think of her. "W-well I th-think it looks nice"

"Oh well there's nothing wrong with that, but maybe you should get a lighter one so you don't keep passing out from heatstroke. So anyways I heard you passed the chuunin exams. I have to take them soon." Naruto looked up at the sky. "If you hadn't passed it would have been nice to have you on my team." The upper half of Hinatas face was purple, she cursed herself for passing the exams and not being able to be Naruto's partner. "I really need to find somebody to be my team mates."

"Hai, I c-could ask around for you as well" Hinata said with somebody already in mind.

"Really, thanks Hinata I appreciate that. Well now that you're feeling better I have to go." Naruto quickly got up and went to her and gave a quick hug and left. Hinata felt lightheaded but she didn't pass out. She made it through a conversation with Naruto she didn't know why she felt so drained but she was glad. Maybe everything would be ok after all.

Out in the desert two ominous figures approached the village of sand.

Well that's it for this ch. I'm thinking about making the chapters longer but I'm not sure yet, let me know what you all think.

Oh I used ( ) in some areas to denote a characters thoughts. If you have questions or suggestions let me know. Review if you want, I crave reviews. Thanx everyone till next chapter stay cool.


	4. Chapter 4

Ok everybody, sorry for the wait. I would like to thank everyone that has reviewed my story so far and hope everyone enjoys this chapter. This chapter has more developments, but don't worry the action isn't to far behind.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form but if I did this is how it would go.

**Developments**

Shikamaru was working on the paperwork for the upcoming chuunin exam. When a familiar shadow fell across his desk. He instantly recognized that shadow and his insides started to feel out of place. Who couldn't recognize those four puffs of hair, even in shadow they were unmistakable. He was shocked that she had snuck up on him so easily, was I that busy with the paperwork he wondered. She was standing right in front of his desk, and she noticed he hadn't even noticed her as she came in. Oh yeah I've gotten that good, Shika, she thought and a grin touched her lips. She placed her left hand on her hip, she was holding a small fan in that hand, and put her right hand behind her neck waiting for Shika to look up at her.

"T-Temari" he looked up slowly, and stuttered when he saw what was in her left hand. Flashback.

It was Shikamaru's b-day and he was spending it the way he wanted to. Doing nothing, really. Then again it was just an average day in his mind. He didn't see all the fuss everyone made about this day. He was lying under a tree enjoying the great konoha weather when he felt a shadow block out the sun. He opened his eyes to see Temari standing over him. "Why are you blocking the sun?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari had gathered information about Shikamaru and found out his birthday. She had spent all day shopping and bought a simple yet elegant fan she thought he would enjoy. Her pride wouldn't let her come out and tell him directly that she liked him. So she reasoned that he would get a clue if she got him something for his birthday. After all he was a genius. It had been hard maneuvering a trip to Konoha on his birthday without attracting Gaara and Kankarou's suspicion. She thought he would appreciate that as well. However, after all that trouble coming all the way out here to Konoha and spending almost two hours looking for him this was how he greeted her. That bastard. She inhaled deeply and calmed down before replying. "So are you enjoying your day?" she asked.

"I was enjoying the sun until somebody bothersome blocked it. So what brings you out here?" he replied. He closed his eyes again and decided to enjoy the shade.

A vain popped up on Temari's forehead, What did that bastard just say about me she angrily asked herself. She was about to commence the beating when she remembered why she was here. Calming herself down she once again replied. " Well I was here to deliver some paperwork to the Kohage and thought I would present you with a gift for your birthday?" She blushed fiercely and was sure her words would get a reaction from him.

Shika looked up at her thinking about what she had just said. He thought it was bothersome, but thought the least he should do was see her gift. He got up slowly and looked into her eyes, her blush intensified, he wondered why. "ok, show me." he said. She reached behind her back and brought out a fan. He took it in his hands and looked it over. "It's very elegant, yet simple. Thank you for showing me this." He handed the fan back.

Temari felt so great by his reaction to her gift, she didn't notice that he was trying to hand it back. Wow, she thought so this is what gratification feels like. What the hell is this poking sensation she thought, she climbed back down from cloud nine to her own body and looked down to see the fan she had worked so hard to choose being poked in her belly. She was so confused and a sweat drop popped on her head "What are you doing?" she asked as she absently took the fan in her hand.

"Well, I have no use for a fan so I can't really accept it can I. I mean it would be so bothers.." Shikamaru had no time to finish the sentence before the fan he had just handed Temari made contact with his face. The last conscious thought that ran through his head was. Way above average strength, and then he was flying. Temari was too pissed off to care about Shika's health at that moment, she just walked away fuming. Back to the present.

"So I gather you brought the list of ninja entering the exams. Anything interesting I should note about them?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, there is one that's real special, one of my subordinates. Her name is Hirai and you should keep an eye out for her." She looked down at him and thought, that bastard why do I like him so much.

He looked up and smiled at her "Sounds interesting to me I'll keep an eye out for her." Shikamaru had no idea what possessed him to say what he said next, "If she's half as cute as you she would definitely be worth seeing." He immediately wished he hadn't let those thoughts out of his mouth, be cause Temari was totally red. Why was she so mad, he wondered. He assessed the situation and made his priorities in this order. Apologize and avoid a beating, get the fan away from her to avoid her further usage of it on him, and do these things in the least troublesome manner.

Temari was shocked by Shikamaru's words. She was blushing so hard, the heat was coursing all through her body. This feeling, is this why she liked him so much, she wondered. Her mind was blank, she had no idea how to respond. She couldn't think past the fact that he had called her cute. Dammit Temari say something, she thought to herself.

"Umm so would you like to go for a walk, I have some information you might be interested in." He thought that would get her mind off of his previous comments. At first it had no effect and he was starting to fear for his health, but then the crimson on her face started to recede. Well he thought, at least I avoided the beating without having to apologize, now I just have to think of some info that she would be interested in. He got up and walked around his desk to where she was. " You can leave the paperwork on the desk I'll take care of it when I get back." She was finally back to normal and did as he asked. She really is cute, he thought to himself. They walked out of the office and headed out towards Konoha.

Naruto walked towards Ichikaru ramen with high spirits. Hinata had offered to help him find a team mate for the exams. He felt good about the situation, but realized he would still have to look for teammates if Hinata wasn't able to come through for him. He was thinking about this things when someone called out to him.

"Big bro, hey big bro wait up for me." It was Konohamaru. "What's going on bro?" He asked when he finally caught up to Naruto.

"Nothing just headed to eat some ramen." Naruto said. "By the way, thanks for taking the box of ramen to my apartment yesterday." They made their way to the ramen stand.

"Oh, it was no big deal" Konohamaru replied thinking back briefly to his experience. Konohamaru became solemn and asked "Naruto is it true, is it true that you're still a gennin."Naruto was visibly shaken.

"Nani, how did you know?" Naruto slumped a little as he once again came to the realization that he was the last gennin of his class. "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter, but yeah I am." The confession was out of his mouth before he had really thought about it, and a really horrible thought crossed his mind, his face went blue. What if Konohamaru is already a chuunin, what if he was just being nice yesterday and was going to gloat today. Naruto didn't think he could stand that humiliation.

"That's great." Naruto slumped further thinking Konohamaru was going to start gloating. "I didn't know for sure, but I heard you had been training the whole time so I didn't think you would be able to take the exam. The thing is I'm planning to take the exam too and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind being my teammate." Naruto was relieved and was already acting as if his thoughts had never happened.

"Don't worry, I got your back" Naruto busted out the good guy pose. I can't believe my luck, one teammate down one more to go, Naruto thought to himself. That's when his mind finally started working. "Umm, Konohamaru what about your team? Aren't you going to take it with them?"

Konohamaru seemed to shrink, "Well, you see they both passed. I'm the only one that's still a gennin, but I know we can do it nee-san." He said recovering his confidence. He had total faith in Naruto and knew that if they worked together the exams would not be a problem. Naruto nodded his head and that settled the matter. They were standing in front of the Ichikaru stand so that meant it was time to eat.

"So Shika, what was that information that you wanted to share with me." Temari was glad to be out in the open air, she was relaxed and enjoying the stroll with Shikamaru. She was glad to be spending time with him, but she was genuinely curious about his news though.

Shikamaru didn't really know what news would satisfy her so he decided to tell her the news that had been big to him recently. He hoped it would work. "Naruto is back in Konoha, he got back yesterday. We knew he was coming back thanks to Chouji's girlfriend, she was hired at the ramen shop so she could help when he returned. Apparently Ichikaru was keeping tabs on Naruto's journey and received a tip-off of when his #1 customer would be coming back." Shika turned to see how she would react, but she had stopped walking a few meters behind where he was standing.

Temari's eyes had widened and her mind was flashing back. She remembered the battle between Gaara and Naruto, a memory she thought of as a dream, telling herself that she had blown it out of proportions because she still found it hard to believe anybody could beat Gaara. Her mind then flashed to the change that Gaara underwent,and the request he made of her every time that she came to Konoha. It had been so long it felt like habit, like something you say thinking it'll never happen, but looking back she realized it had never been like that with Gaara. The request was always the same always as she was about to leave, he would look up at her and stop her. Each time with the same weight in his eyes and each time the same words. "Temari, if you see him make sure to extend an invitation to him,tell him I would like to speak with him." She always dreaded the return trip knowing that he would once again be disappointed when he asked her if she saw him. This return trip would be different though. Did Shikamaru somehow know that she had been waiting to hear these news. She came back to her senses and looked towards Shika. Silently thanking him for giving her the news. "So where is he." she asked.

Shikamaru didn't expect the news to be received the way they were, but he assumed that this information satisfied her. "I'm not really sure. Are you hungry we could go grab something to eat and see if we see him there. If we don't I'm sure we can find out his whereabouts." Temari nodded seeing the sense in this and walked with him wondering to herself if this was a date.

In the Hokage's office Jiraiya had finished giving his report and was about to leave when Tsunade called him back. "Jiraiya, I want you back here in three hours." the look on his face told her he didn't plan on listening, " Hey listen up you perverted bastard, you disappeared for three yrs. And if you don't fulfill some semblance to your duty to this village. So help me, I'll dispatch half the anbu squad to hunt you down and when they get you I'll be right behind them. I'm a medical ninja so don't think that I won't cause maximum damage to you before you die." she saw he was sweating profusely and had turned blue so she hoped he was taking her threat seriously. She was after all dead serious about fulfilling that threat if he decided to run. "I'll be ready for you in three hours, be punctual." He nodded his head and slipped out the door.

Damn that Tsunade Jiraiya thought, she would be crazy enough to pull something like that. He didn't really want to come back, but looking at his options it seemed coming back was the best option. Even though he had a feeling he would regret it.

At the Hyugaa household, Hanabi was sitting outside resting when she noticed her older sister walking towards her. In her hand she was tightly holding a necklace that looked much like a rosary but the medallion seemed to be clenched in Hinata's grip. It had been so long since Hanabi had seen such a look of determination on her sister's face, her curiosity was growing with each step her older sister took. Hinata stopped where Hanabi was and went down on her haunches. This was a very unusual position for Hinata to assume Hanabi thought.

"Oni-san, I have a favor to ask of you." Hanabi's curiosity peeked, what could this be about she wondered. " You are the only one in your group eligible to take the chuunin exams, due to your participation in a mission with my team, and a mission with Neji's team giving you the required number of missions to enter. It would really please me if you would consider entering in the current chuunin exam." Hinata was really tense and determined. Hanabi wondered what had brought this about.

"My team will be eligible come next exam, why the hurry for me to take it now? I don't know anybody else that is taking it that would be my teammate." Hinata was starting to blush a little bit. This was really unlike her Hanabi thought.

"There's no hurry.. ano there is somebody who needs a team mate and I thought it would be a good opportunity for you." Hinata's blush had started to deepen.

Now, Hanabi could barely contain her curiosity, "Who is it?" Hanabi eagerly asked.

"I don't know if you remember him, but his name is Naruto." Hinata was dark red blushing, she never thought she would be in this predicament before. Asking a favor of her sister for the boy she had a crush on.

Hanabi's eyes lit up. Naruto, he's the one that beat Neji she thought. She had been in the stands that day, how could she forget that battle. She didn't expect that name at all. Was it possible that he was still a gennin, he had beat Neji and he was a jounnin now. "Why is he still a gennin?" Hanabi asked, even though in her mind the reason didn't matter the opportunity to work with someone that strong was rare and her mind was already made up.

"He's been away training and hasn't had the opportunity to take the exams." Hinata eagerly awaited Hanabi's answer, asking herself why Hanabi was starting to smile.

Out in the desert, we see two figures nearing the gate of the village of sand. "We are almost there, mmm." one of the pair says.

As always please review. I know its moving kinda slow right now but I'll try to make it move along faster in the coming chapters. Hope you enjoy.


	5. Chapter 5

I would like to thank everybody that has submitted reviews, it motivates me to keep writing. Well here is the 5th chapter I hope everybody enjoys and please review. Some of you may think you know where I'm going with this, but don't be fooled not even I know where I'm going with it. Lol that was a joke, please don't hurt me. If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to make them. Enjoy.

I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**Arrival**

The two strangers walked closer to the village of sand. They were coming to one of the guard outposts, which served as both the first line of defense and scouting post. They both wore black cloaks with red clouds decorating them, and straw hats that obscured their faces. One seemed to have a massive hunchback and had a squat appearance with what looked like a black bandanna covering the bottom half of their faces. His companion was much taller and thin. She looked up to reveal she had light skin and blond hair obscuring her light blue right eye.

"We're finally here... yeah? I take it you've taken care of our entrance here?" She asked still looking at the guardposts.

"It is done." Her companion answered. He looked at her and asked what was on his mind, "Will you be able to accomplish your mission with the amount of materials you brought?" He looked forward to see a lone sand ninja approaching them.

His companion looked down at him revealing her head guard. It was from the stone village, like Itachi's it also had a large scratch running across the stones. "You underestimate me? Yeah." she shifted her robe to reveal a bag (more like a pouch) around her waste. It was square in form, unobtrusive, instead of a zipper it appeared to have a mouth on top, and a zipper on the side. It was on her left side, she pulled her arm out of the sleeve so that the robe hung off her shoulder. She had pulled out her right hand and was holding a bag in it. On her finger she had a silver ring with a blue stone on it and some writing on it. She seemed to feed a substance from the bag in her right hand to the pouch. "It appears that you do not know the power of art yet. Do not worry I will not fail. I will get what we are here for... yeah."

Her companion simply nodded and went to speak with the sand ninja. She reached down with her left hand, as she reached down a mouth with teeth formed in her palm and the mouth on her palm kissed the mouth of the pouch. She then brought her hands together in a rapid succession of hand gestures. She finished her jutsus, poof. A large clay bird about twice her size was standing next to her when the smoke cleared. Her companion looked back briefly and went back to talking to the sand ninja.

"I've prepared something special for the village of sand, a work of art they will never forget. Yeah."

She jumped on the back of the clay bird. The clay bird started flapping its wings and took off into the sky.

The sand ninja and her companion looked at the departing figure. The sand ninja asked her companion, "Sir, will she succeed."

"She isn't taking this seriously enough, she could have prepared better, but I am confident she will not fail."

Back at Konoha, Temari and Shikamaru were still about a block away from the ramen stand when Shikamaru stopped. A thought was running through his head that he maybe should have put together a long time ago. He had been thinking about how to get Temari's smaller fan away from her without getting hurt, this lead him to think about the first time he had seen that fan. This was probably the first time that he allowed himself to wonder why she had bought it in the first place. Could it be that she liked him, he found it hard to believe considering how straightforward she was. He had always thought she was out of his league and to troublesome to ask out. He had stopped with this question on his mind and a solution to getting the fan away from her dawned on him. "T-Temari-chan?"

"Hmm, what is it Shika?" He had never addressed her like that and her cheeks turned ever so slightly pink. She opened the fan and pretended to fan herself while her cheeks returned to normal.

"That fan, you brought it for my birthday. I remember that day. I wanted to apologize for the way I reacted and would like to accept it now the way I should have accepted it that day." Shikamaru asked. The moment of truth had come, he had put his life and pride on the line. He didn't know what was going to happen, if this move succeeded it would serve many purposes. He wanted to sweat so badly, but knew his life would be forfeit if he did. The key to his survival was to not show any fear whatsoever, he only hoped he would be successful.

Temari was shocked, at first so many emotions ran through her. Fear that he was messing with her head, anger that he had the nerves to mess with her head, but overall what she really felt was a sense of happiness, because he had finally acknowledged her gift. A smile grew on her face and she closed the fan. " Hai, Shikamaru this fan was meant to be your gift from the beginning, I'm glad you are willing to accept it." With that she handed the fan to Shikamaru and turned to keep walking.

Shikamaru looked down at the fan lost in his own thoughts. He always thought Temari's temper was too short, but always seemed to enjoy her company. He started wondering about when he would see her again and decided to ask her. "Will you be back for the chuunin exams?" He couldn't look directly at her so he focused his attention on the fan while he waited for her response.

"I think only the Kazekage comes to see the fights at the end of the exams. I could see if I could come, but don't hold your breath." Was this his way of saying he liked her, she wondered, "Why Shika, would you like to see me again?"

Shikamaru froze momentarily, "No its nothing like that, ha ha I was just wondering." changing the subject before she could pursue it further he said, "Look there's the ramen stand we should get something to eat while we gather information on Naruto's whereabouts." He started walking briskly towards the stand leaving her to catch up to him. How troublesome he thought to himself, he looked down at the fan and thought, at least she won't beat me up with this fan anymore.

Sakura and Ino had gone to Naruto's apartment, but he hadn't been home they were leaving his apartment when Kakashi called out to them. "Ey you two where do you think you're going?"

They turned and Sakura answered, "We're going to find Naruto. What are you doing?"

Kakashi quickly jumped to where they were standing and replied, "I am going to accompany you two." He was about to start reading his Icha Icha book again when he noticed the bewildered expressions on their faces. "Oh, I guess I should tell you Sakura, the hokage told me she wanted me to get a team together and seeing as how Naruto just came back I thought it would be nice for us to work together again." Even though he could see they were still absorbing the information he had given them he started to read his book and said. "So just go on about your search for Naruto and I'll follow. This is a good opportunity to see if your tracking skills have improved Sakura."

"Nani, so team seven will be back together. Don't worry Kakashi-sensei we'll find him." Sakura eagerly said (BAKA! Tsunade sensei didn't teach you anything about tracking. If Naruto's not at the ramen stand you'll never find him..BAKA! I can't believe you're starting to sound like that Narutard with his false confidence.) Sakura grabbed the confused looking Ino and started dragging her along. "Let's go Ino, we'll show him." Ino and Sakura had been getting along better recently since they were no longer constantly fighting over Sasuke's attention.

"By the way Sakura have you run into Naruto since his return?" Kakashi stopped reading his book and stared at Sakura's back. Sakura froze at these words, her face turned blue and sweat started pouring down her head and body as Kakashi said the following. "It seems that on his first day back Naruto was brutally beaten and left for dead on the streets. I brought him home and laid him on his bed, however he never regained consciousness while I was here so I wasn't able to give him the news." Kakashi said in a cold voice. The sweat was really coming out of Sakura now. The next words that Kakashi spoke were spoken in cold, hard, calculating precision. "If we were to find the person who did that to our comrade, it would only be fair that we returned the favor. Wouldn't it Sakura?"

Sakura swallowed a huge lump that was residing in her throat. "H-Hai Kakashi-sensei, it would." (BAKA! Are you crazy you just said it was ok to die...AAAAHHHHH I'm to pretty to die! Why meee!) Ino was totally lost about what had just transpired. Looking from Kakashi to Sakura to see if she could get a clue.

Kakashi resumed reading his book and walked past the girls. "Let's get moving then. The sooner we find Naruto the better."

Temari and Shikamaru entered the stand to see two figures already occupying seats. Shikamaru recognized Konohamaru who was staring at the tall blond stranger in awe. Next to Konohamaru there sat 4 empty bowls of ramen. Shikamaru thought to himself, wow that's quite an appetite, this thought however was totally crushed when he looked over at the pile of empty bowls next to the tall blond stranger. There were 11 empty bowls next to this guy, Shikamaru thought nobody could ever match Chouji's appetite, again this thought was crushed Chouji's max was at 9 bowls. Who was this ramen monster Shikamaru wondered. Could it be? Even Temari's mouth dropped at seeing so many empty bowls. Naruto's ears twitched and he slowly turned around with noodles hanging out of his mouth. Shikamaru was shocked, his arm was in a defensive posture as if warding off evil. It is him, and where does he put all that food? That's a twelve bowl he's just finished. Temari's mouth just hung open and she thought, truly all noodles must have nightmares of this beast. Naruto recognized the pair and slurped up the noodles, and shown a smile that split his face.

"Shikamaru, just the guy I was looking for." Naruto said.

"Did you expect to find me at the bottom of one of those bowls Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"D-Did you finish off all those bowls by yourself, Naruto?" Temari asked.

Naruto looked behind him with a confused expression on his face. "Hahaha, yeah I guess I did, I even helped Konohamaru with one of his bowls. I guess I was a little hungry this morning?" Shikamaru and Temari were floored by this answer.

Konohamaru absently nodded his head in agreement, "so many bowls" Konohamaru quietly said.

Naruto kept talking as if he hadn't heard Konohamaru. "Don't worry they still have plenty of ramen for you guys if you're hungry."

In the background a giant sweat drop appeared on Ichikaru's forhead. As he thought, if we hadn't ordered those extra crates of ramen when we heard he was coming back we would be out of ramen. To think that he even had to hire Chouji's girlfriend to keep up with Naruto, that guy was great for business.

Shikamaru regained his composure and asked, "What is it you wanted to see me about?"

"We're going to enter the chuunin exams, so you need to put our names down!" Naruto pointed at Shikamaru, then busted out the good guy pose as if everything was taken care of.

A huge sweatdrop popped out on Temari's forehead, "You're still a gennin?" she hesitantly asked. Is that really possible I thought this runt was strong, she thought to herself.

Before Naruto could respond Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and said, "How troublesome, it seems you only have two members and the teams all require three people. I can't sign you up if it's only you two."

Naruto was growling at Temari, he didn't like the way she had asked him her question. Shikamaru made a good point though. Naruto felt obligated to respond with confidence. "Don't worry Shikamaru we'll get that third person and their information to you before you know it."

"Ok Naruto I know it now, so where is the information?" Shikamaru calmly asked.

"NANI? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Naruto had no idea how to react, but he knew he wanted to react somehow. Jiraiya had told him though, think before you act, Baka.

"Don't be so rash Naruto I was only making a joke?" Shikamaru crossed his arms in front of him and made Temari's gift more visible. He looked over to see Temari had brought out her other fan and was leaning on it, watching the events unfold.

Naruto was scratching his head, "Oh I get it a joke. Hahaha, that was funny Shikamaru." Sweatdrops appeared on everyone's forehead. Naruto noticed the fans and decided to change the subject. " So whats up with the fans? Are you two dating?"

Temari and Shikamura, blushed like crazy, their cheeks were so red you could see it on the infrared spectrum. Shikamaru couldn't answer, didn't know how to answer he had asked himself the same question on the way here. With Temari having her fan out it made him even more afraid of answering.

"BAKA! I'm just a messenger from the sand relaying information between the villages!" Temari stammered through the blushing sensation overwhelming her.

Naruto wondered what was wrong with them and decided maybe he should change the subject again.

"Ey, Temari I heard that Orochamaru had killed the Kazekage as well as the 3rd Hokage here. Who's the Kazekage now?"

Temari glad for the change of subject composed herself and prepared to answer.

In the village of sand, in the Kazekage's office Gaara let out a sneeze. Hirai looked up from her task and asked "Are you ok Kazekage-san?"

"Yes Hirai, thank you for your concern." Gaara responded. His mind wandered off again, Gaara had come back from his mission a few hours ago and was presently in his quarters putting up his puppets.

He and Hirai had been reviewing the missions the village had accomplished, making sure everything was in order when he had returned. He gave his report and headed to his quarters, but something he had said disturbed him. He remembered Kankarou's words.

"We received information on the way back in the form of a letter from one of the Sannin of konoha, I believe it was Jiraiya. He urged us to fortify our defenses and prepare for trouble, he said something in our village has been targeted by a powerful organization, called Aketsuki. We should discuss this as soon as possible." Gaara came out of reverie. He looked towards Hirai and was thinking of asking her something when he heard it. A series of muffled explosions going off in various locations in the village.

"Hirai, go fetch Kankarou tell him to be ready to fight."


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, sorry for the wait everybody I should have had this chapter done sooner, but like they say better late than never. Right...right? Anyways to Serrene Panda thanks for catching my spelling errors, no problem being a spelling nazi as long as you don't have a concentration camp waiting for me. Well, you're right Deidara is a guy in Kishimoto's story, but I like him as a her so in my story I am GOD and that's how it's going to go...Muahahaha. As always thanx everybody that submitted a review, this is my first fight scene so please let me know what you think. I hope I did a good job describing the fight (have fingers crossed) well I hope everybody enjoys this ch.

As always I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**PIECES SET IN MOTION**

Hirai ran at full speed to Kankarou's room going over the recent events in her mind. After Temari had left she helped Gaara in any way she could. It felt great thinking that Gaara would acknowledge her somehow, so she never hesitated in doing anything he asked. If he asked her to toss herself off a cliff she would just ask which one, that's how eager she was to please. Of course she would never show it, but if you met inner Hirai it would be obvious. When she handed in papers to Gaara so that he could go over them it was always the same routine. Inner Hirai would toss herself off some tall imaginary cliff and just free fall while Gaara pointed out the mistakes, hitting a jutting stone on the cliff's face each time he sounded really concerned and then continuing on her way down. Only to be saved by cloud nine when Gaara thanked her, looking directly at her with his green haunted eyes and making her feel like everything was well with the world once more. She almost let her emotions show when Kankarou returned from his mission to give his report. Inadvertently cutting into her Gaara-time. They had sent her to wait outside while he gave his report. This is when inner Hirai almost lost it.

(BAAKKAA! How can you be standing out here so calmly, Gaara wasn't satisfied with our work. He didn't thank us yet.) Inner Hirai had bawled. It got to the point where she was blaming Kankarou for her current emotional state. (That bastard! He knew I was having my Gaara-time and wanted to make me suffer for some unknown reason. Suggesting I should wait outside! He wants to deprive us of our soon to be relationship! AAGGGGHHHHH! THAT BASTARD!) At that moment Kankarou stepped out and walked past her. His back was to her and she was wound so tight she thought she was going to explode. Suddenly before she had time to act on any thoughts that were starting to cross her mind a hand fell on her shoulder.

"Sorry to make you wait so long, let's finish our work." Gaara said then took his hand off her shoulder and walked back in. Offhandedly saying, "You are doing well, Hirai."

Hirai thought she was going to melt into the floor. (He is sooooo going to be mine!) "hai" she calmly responded and followed him in. "What news did Kankarou bring."

Gaara stopped at his desk not turning around, "He brought news from the sensei of somebody who I greatly respect." He bowed his head then regained his composure and went to sit down.

This last comment made her really curious. She wanted to ask, but couldn't bring herself to do so. She hadn't known Gaara for too long but in all her time she never imagined that he had an equal or, there she blasphemy and think, a person he admired. This had been running through her mind for a while and she was still thinking about it when they heard the blast. Now she found herself running to get Kankarou to aid Gaara against some unknown adversary. Her pride hurt knowing that she had to go get him because she was still to weak to help on her own. However, she knew it was also not only a question of strength because they didn't know the opponent's strength and it might turn out that Kankarou wasn't even needed, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The blond intruder thought the infiltration had been a success. She had designed three spider shaped dolls about half the size of a fist and dropped them at the different guard posts from the air. The dolls were able to move and climbed onto the guards at the posts. Once the dolls were where she wanted them she made them explode, easily taking out the guards. That had been the easy part, she thought that finding her objective would be much harder. This was not to be because as it turned out her objective had found her.

Gaara was standing on top of the building defiantly. The cap of his gourd already removed and sand starting to gather around him. He saw the giant clay bird almost instantly and prepared to attack. His control of the Shukaku's power had improved steadily and he was starting to manage it with a high degree of success. He pointed his arm towards the enemy and maintained his palm open. He focused his power and attacked. Sand seemed to gather next to Gaaras feet and shoot out of the building at a high speed. It had the same shape and speed as a crude battering ram. It gained speed with every meter it traveled and the size increased at the same rate. Making it look like the Kazekage's building was erupting like a volcano.

The intruder saw this and was impressed with Gaara's control. She was able to avoid the attack, but saw that the fight was just beginning because the sand was still gathering under Gaara raising him into the sky. She had avoided the first attack as it had overshot her and she prepared to make her move. She stopped however when she saw that the sand of the first attack had maintained its shape, even though it had separated from the building on which Gaara was standing. She followed the path of the sand to see it was coming back at her at frightening speed. She changed directions immediately to avoid this second attack. She had underestimated this brat. She was quickly forming tiny clay birds as she was evading attacks. She threw the four birds in her hand. Two hit what now looked like a giant paw of sand that was Gaara's first attack. One hit the second rudimentary paw that was Gaara's second attack. Neither slowed the attacks in the slightest. The last was blocked by the sand in Gaara's gourd. She now knew what she had to do to beat Gaara, but it would not be easy. Gaara's attacks were starting to gain on her clay bird, and Gaara had unleashed a third attack. His second giant sand paw had also lifted off the building and was flying at her and great speeds. She was releasing small clay birds that were flying around the larger one, and frantically making more.

Gaara had no idea what this stranger wanted, but he would not let her be successful. He spread his fingers further apart momentarily and all the sand paws flattened and increased in size becoming thinner. The first one was under the strangers bottom left and was passing her up while the second paw was passing her up on her top right. She was being surrounded by a small flock of clay birds, but Gaara planned to destroy them as well. His third sand paw was gaining on her from behind as well. She sent a few clay dolls flying towards Gaara it looked like five. One was stopped by sand breaking off the paw and colliding with it causing a small explosion. Gaara noticed the explosion, but was unable to gage it's power because the sand surrounded it hiding it's potential. Some of the sand broke off the paw from a different area and came after the surviving birds at a much higher speed overtaking them and protecting Gaara. The same effect happened to these clay birds there was an explosion the same as the first clay bird. Gaara was unmoved.

His giant paws had surrounded her. This is not a good situation, she thought to herself. If she didn't do this exactly right she would die right here. Two paws were in front of her creating a semi-circular wall that was limiting her maneuvering abilities and the third paw was closing in on her. She had four birds ready and was making a fifth, I will succeed, she though, oh yeah.

Gaara had the paws successfully forming a complete circle around her. He saw the clay birds trying to escape, but it was to late now the sand had now completely surrounded them. He thought to himself, this fight is now over. He made a fist and tightened it yelling "Desert Coffin!"

Back in Konoha. Naruto's jaw had dropped to the ground when Temari gave him the news of Gaara's ascension to Kazekage. Naruto's mouth closed and he started laughing. "Oh, I get it. This is some sort of joke. Hahaha." Naruto's laughter died as he saw the look on his friends' faces.

"Why, do you think that would be a joke Naruto?" Temari asked, "Gaara has really changed and as you know he is very strong, the strongest in our village." She went on, though in her mind it was still a struggle to believe that three years ago this runt beat their Kazekage and he was still only a gennin.

Shikamaru intervened knowing that Temari didn't really know Naruto or the effects her comments may have on him. "No, Naruto this is not a joke." For the first time since running into him Shikamaru could not see any emotions on his old comrades face. He could not imagine what Naruto was going through having always dreamed of being Hokage, always worked for that goal, could be thinking upon hearing that one of his peers had accomplished the goal he so desperately wanted in such a short time.

Naruto didn't really know what to think. He had been away for so long he felt foolish now thinking that everything would be the way it had been before he left. He had been disappointed a little bit when he found out that he had been the last gennin of his class. This however really broke into his thoughts, he trained all those years and was nowhere closer to his dream. He looked at his comrades with reflective eyes and a smile barely touched his lips.

"I'm glad then,I'm glad Gaara is Kazekage. It means that my dream isn't so unattainable. If Gaara is Kazekage then that gives me hope, because if he can accomplish his dream, then I know I can't give up on mine." Naruto's smile grew wider, "I will be Hokage, you guys just wait. I will be the best Hokage anybody has ever known. Believe it! I won't fail." Naruto was back to his hyper self, pointing at the mountain and yelling. "My face will one day be on that moun..." Naruto's jaw dropped once again as he looked at the mountain for the first time.

Naruto's excitement was contagious, Temari and Shikamaru were highly entertained by Naruto's reaction to the news. They were both unaware of the smile on their faces as they followed Naruto's gaze. "What is it?" Temari asked.

"How long has old lady Tsunade's mug been plastered on the mountain?" Naruto demanded. Once again everybody was floored by Naruto's question.

"It's been up there for about a year." Shikamaru answered. "How could you not see it when you returned or your whole time here so far?" He asked. Damn, he thought, Naruto is blind. Everyone awaited his answer.

Naruto was in a thinking position with his hand on his chin and his arm across his chest. "Well it's been an eventful return. I just haven't paid attention to it." He nodded his head thinking that should be a good enough answer.

"You haven't changed at all." Shikamaru said.

"So, I guess you guys are going to eat. Well, me and Konohamaru will leave you to your business. We have business to take care of, Right Konohamaru." Konohamaru nodded his head in agreement.

Shikamaru went in, Temari stood where she was, "Naruto-kun, Gaara asked me to tell you something." Temari said.

Naruto put his hands behind his head and asked, "What is it?"

"He would like to extend an invitation to you, you would be welcome at any time." Temari said, "He has some things he would like to discuss with you. Will you accept his invitation?" Her tone was grave in awaiting the answer.

"Yeah Temari, that wouldn't be half bad." Naruto said. "I wouldn't mind asking him to give me tips on how to handle being a kage. After all we are allies now so there is nothing wrong with going over there now is there." Naruto nodded his head and smiled at Temari.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun Gaara will be glad to hear your response." She didn't say it, but she was also glad to hear his response. She couldn't think of a worse scenario than telling Gaara that he had been refused by the one person he admired. She still didn't understand why Gaara respected this guy so much, but she was glad she wouldn't have to disappoint Gaara any more. Temari then followed Shikamaru leaving Naruto and Konohamaru outside the stand.

Elsewhere Hinata was walking with Kiba and Shino trying to organize her thoughts and assess all the information she had gotten. It was hard concentrating because she wanted to give Naruto her news, as well as her gift. Unfortunately they had been given a mission and she had to do what was asked of her. Kurenai-sensei had given them the details the mission had been assigned by the Hokage and Kurenai could not help them on this mission because she had been given another mission. The circumstances bothered team 8 a little bit, because the purpose of the mission and circumstances didn't really make sense to them. They didn't have a jounnin in the group, so that peeked their interest. Then there was the fact that their target was in the village and their objective was simply to escort the target to the Hokages office. They had a time limit but Kurenai said the important thing was getting their target there, if this was accomplished the time limit would not matter. What really bothered them was Kurenai reaction when she saw the face of the target they were after. Flashback.

Kurenai handed them the folder containing the specific information on the target. "The hokage says this is a level B mission, I wish I could help, but the hokage has her reason's for her actions. Though a simple escort mission and in the same village I don't know what would make it a level B" Kurenai said, she reflected on this momentarily before deciding to bid her subordinates farewell. "Well, take care I have confidence it won't be to hard for you three." She turned around when Shino stopped her.

"There is only a picture in here, no information was given, do you know anything about our target? Here's the picture." Shino was holding the picture so she could view. When her eyes landed on the picture she jumped back about five feet in shock.

"Nani! That's your target, what is the hokage thinking! That's no level B mission, even a group of jounnin would have trouble with that! I hope she's just sending you to make sure he gets to her office and you don't have to fight him. I am so confused." A sweatdrop popped up on her forhead and her arms fell limply. "I hope the hokage knows what she's doing, well I have to go, but you might want to look around the bath houses, or areas around rivers where girls might bathe. Be very careful and good luck." She turned grumbling to herself and waved good-bye to them and left them standing there.

They decided to take Kurenai's advice and headed to the bathhouse. It didn't take to long they had arrived at the bath houses and were about to begin their mission. They all let out a breath of air and began their search.

As always please feel free to review.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7 is finally up well I hope everybody enjoys it and sorry bout the long wait. As always feel free to leave reviews comments or suggestions. They can really motivate a writer. (hint, hint)

I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**TARGET FOUND**

Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were standing in front of Konoha's most prominent bath houses. There were other bath houses, but Kurenai didn't really give them any specifics. So this was the first one they thought they should go to.

"So what d'ya think Shino?" Kiba asked. Even though Kiba had at first always wanted to be considered the leader of the group he had long ago come to recognize that he was not meant to fill that role. He came to respect and trust Shino's leadership abilities. It was not only this that made him accept his role, but also Hinata's overall way of being. Sometimes he really wondered who was the real leader in their group, fortunately for him he didn't have the capacity to think too much so this never really bothered him.

"I've sent some of my bugs to the riverbanks to see if they spot anybody whose resemblance matches our target. This should allow us to conduct a more thorough search of the spas. Hinata, please use your byakugan to see if you notice anybody fitting our targets description around. Don't worry about checking the male spas Kiba can take care of that. I will go ask the receptionists if they have any information that may lead us to his whereabouts." Shino instructed everybody coolly and confidently. " We should meet back here in less than 20 minutes. This is only a cursory search and if we find him we should discuss how to proceed before engaging the target." He looked at Kiba. " So no impulsive behavior, we can't afford to make mistakes."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" Kiba responded.

"It means we should endeavor to take the wisest decisions." Shino replied. Hinata was already walking away looking around. Shino watched her walking away and said to Kiba, "You could still learn a thing or two from her, we should get moving as well." He started walking away leaving Kiba fuming.

Hinata was really not into the mission at all, but thought it would be easy to see the target if he were there. So she decided to just look around while thinking about how to give Naruto the gift she made for him. It had not been easy, but it helped pass the time. Plus she felt good thinking she was doing something for him he might appreciate. At times during his absence she felt very forlorn an wished she could go after him. Then she would realize how foolish her dreams were. She didn't even know who he was training with. For a long time she thought about doing something for him and her gift had been the solution. She absentmindedly took out her gift and started fidgeting with it. She started imagining how she would present her gift to Naruto and his reaction. She imagined herself presenting it to him with confidence and him showering appreciation and awe at her gift. The way her mind wandered it makes a nin wonder if she would ever walk back in time.

Naruto and Konohamaru were standing in front of the Ichikaru stand thinking about what to do next when a yell pierced their shallow thoughts.

"Naruto-kun, it's been so long." Naruto turned to see a blond haired girl rushing towards him with arms open. Konohamaru barely had time to move out of the way to keep from getting ran over as the girl ran past him. Naruto was in the motion of putting his hands off to hold her off, but it was to late. The girl ran into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. The top of her head came to Naruto's nose and she decided it would be comfortable to lay her head on his shoulder.

"I-Ino-chan, is that you." Naruto asked. He quickly assessed what was going on and quickly returned the hug Ino was giving him.

"Duh, Naruto. Wow you've gotten so tall." Ino said, even though in her mind she thought he had become a hottie and his body was rock hard she wasn't about to tell him that. She inhaled his scent and found it very pleasing.

"Haha, yeah, and they say you have to eat vegetables to grow tall. Ha I showed them huh?" He looked down at his old friend and started sniffling. He remembered her in the spa with Tenten and thought it was great that she was giving him a hug like this to welcome him home. Unlike that crazy ass Sakura what the hell was wrong with that girl he asked himself.

Ino smiled at that comment. He hasn't changed at all she thought to herself. She was about to pull away from his embrace when he tightened his hold on her.

"Don't pull away yet Ino, let me enjoy this for a moment. I've always wondered what it would be like to be held in the arms of a beautiful woman." Ino blushed fiercely, but didn't pull away. I was wrong she thought, he has changed a lot. Her smile grew wider. Kakashi looked up from his book in surprise. He had just read that line a few pages ago in his Icha Icha paradise book. No way would he have ever thought that Naruto could successfully pull that line off and look smooth doing it. Yet, there it was. Damn that Jiaraiya, Kakashi thought, how well did you teach my pupil. He glanced at his other old pupil who seemed like she was about to explode for some reason. She walked closer to the pair like a predator moving towards its prey. Konohamaru seeing her moving towards them sneaked away hoping she wouldn't notice him and moved to stand next to Kakashi. As soon as Ino and Naruto broke their embrace Sakura grabbed Naruto by the hand and pulled him violently towards her and wrapped him up in a suffocating bear hug. With one arm under his underarm and the other arm around his neck. She leaned in close to his ear. She was a little bit taller than Ino so she could maneuver this easily and whispered into his ear.

"Hey Naruto, listen good. This is the first time we ran into each other, get it. What happened yesterday didn't happen, if anybody were to find out what didn't happen yesterday I would hate to think of what would happen." She squeezed Naruto even tighter as she said this, until she heard his bones creak. "Get what I'm saying old buddy." Naruto was purple in the face by now and nodded his swelling head. Inner Sakura was standing there with her arms crossed in front of her smugly smiling at her approval of how Sakura had handled the situation. Sakura let go of Naruto and said to him in a much friendlier and not to mention louder voice. "Naruto-kun its so nice to have you back."

Ino looked at her two friends once again totally confused as to what just happened. Naruto nodded his head and dazedly looked around. What in the hell is wrong with Sakura he thought to himself why is she so hell bent on being so mean. "Sakura, why are you acting so mean towards me."

"What do you mean Naruto, she just gave you a hug and said welcomed you home." Kakashi asked, he was now standing directly behind Naruto.

"WWAAAGGHH!" Naruto screamed as he jumped about a foot off the ground, totally surprised by Kakashi standing right behind him. When he calmed down again he was sitting on the ground looking up at Kakashi. "Nani, are you trying to kill me!"

Kakashi was mildly amused by Naruto's actions. "So do you let other people sneak up behind you so easily? You really haven't changed much Naruto. Like I was saying why would you say that about Sakura, isn't this the first time you two saw each other in about three years." Kakashi didn't know why, but he was starting to grow suspicious about his two former students. Were they keeping something from him, maybe he was just being paranoid he thought to himself. Sakura was staring very hard at Naruto, Inner Sakura was profusely sweating (don't say anything baka.)

Naruto didn't see why Sakura tried to threaten him. He would never admit to anybody that she was the one that knocked him out with one punch. After all it had been a very lucky sucker punch, had the situation been different she would have never pulled it off. He got up and dusted himself off. "I guess I thought she hugged me to tight and you know I kinda thought that was a mean way to greet a friend. Maybe she should have followed Ino's example, her greeting was much, much better." Naruto smiled widely at this. He winked at Ino and she blushed slightly and looked down. Sakura just stood there calmly. Inner Sakura was burning with rage fist clenched in front of her. ( How dare you belittle me in front of our comrades you bastard!) "By the way Kakashi-sensei I have something for you." Naruto took off his backpack and put it on the ground. He got down on his haunches and started searching for something in his backpack his face was really focused.

"What is it Naruto?" Kakashi asked genuinely curious.

"Ah, here it is." Naruto looked up with a smile on his face and pulled a book out of his backpack. Naruto got up and handed the book to Kakashi.

"I-is that the newest edition of Icha-Icha paradise?" Kakashi asked seeing the book Naruto was holding, his eyes were glowing.

Naruto nodded his head, "Yup, and it hasn't even been published yet. I asked Jiraiya-sensei for a few copies and he agreed to give them to me. He gave me three, I saved this one for you and have two more that I can do whatever I want with."

"Thank you Naruto this really means a lot to me." Kakashi wanted to open the book then and there and start reading it, but had to resist temptation and do what had to be done. He was still struggling with this decision when Sakura spoke up.

"You want me to break the news to Naruto-kun while you read your new book or can you do it?" She asked. Naruto, looked at Sakura with new interest in his face, wondering what it was that she could be talking about.

Kakashi looked at Sakura then at Ino and finally came to rest on Naruto. He sighed thinking to himself, well if I want to get to reading this book I might as well get this over with as soon as possible. With that he pocketed the book and spoke. "Well, Naruto the Hokage has asked me to assemble a team to accompany me on missions and seeing as how you have finally returned I have taken into consideration putting team 7 back together again."

Naruto was jumping up and down with excitement, "Hell yeah, that's awesome." Sakura and Ino were both smiling widely at Narutos reaction.

Kakashi put up his hand and continued. "Calm down Naruto, this is not something that is guaranteed. First you must be evaluated and if you and Sakura are deemed worthy then we can proceed to work together again."

Naruto and Sakura were both taken back by this bit of information. For some reason they both thought it would just happen neither had expected this development. "NANI!" they both asked in unison.

Kakashi looked at his former pupils exasperated and thought to himself these two still have a long way to go. "Even though I would like for us to work together for old time's sake. The situation has changed, you are no longer my pupils and the missions we would be taking would be of an entirely different nature. So you must prove yourself once again to be considered for this group." Ino nodded seeing the sense in this. Sakura was still standing there stunned, Inner Sakura had a downcast look (He doesn't think I'm good enough to be on the team) she looked like she was about to cry.

Naruto let out a loud laugh, "That's funny Kakashi-sensei, I thought as much." He was bluffing though the thought had never crossed his mind, but his confidence would never let him admit it. "Bring it on anywhere anytime I will not fail we will be working together before long." Naruto crossed his arms and stood in a determined stance.

"I'm glad to hear your enthusiasm Naruto, follow me I'll explain on the way." With that said Kakashi turned around and started walking. Unconsciously reaching for the pocket where he had his new book at.

Back at the bath house Hinata was walking towards their meeting place. She was about five minutes early but Shino and Kiba were already waiting for her. She wondered why they were there so early she wondered to herself. Did they think I wasn't taking my duty seriously, I did what I was supposed to do she thought. She quickly dismissed these thoughts and simply asked. "What happened?"

Shino replied. "I believe one of my residents has located our target near the riverbanks. We should proceed to investigate" Shino and Kiba turned around and started walking.

Kiba looked back at Hinata and said confidently, "Don't worry Hinata we'll take care of this mission, piece of cake. Ain't that right Akamaru?" Akamaru let out a deep bark in reply and they made their way.

They arrived at their destination with very little problem. Once there though Shino raised his hand, "This is strange one of my female insects stayed with the target so that we could easily find him, but it seems that my male insects are no longer picking up her scent." He turned around to face his two team mates and stuck his hands in his pockets. "It would appear that I will not be able to find him now, but we should be within the targets general vicinity. Kiba can you and Akamaru pick up and distinguish male scents out here?" Kiba and Akamaru nodded. "Very well, please guide us to all the male scents you can pick up and Hinata once we are near use your blood limit to verify the target." The first guy they found wasn't the guy he was just sunbathing by the river. The second scent they followed led them a little deeper into the forest. They were about half a mile from the river when Kiba stopped and pointed.

"There's someone directly in front of us." He said, Hinata stepped up and scanned the area with her byakuggan, but the area was clear. She looked back at Kiba with a questioning glance. "Look up, he has to be there somewhere, we can't pick out his exact location without getting closer." Hinata nodded. She looked back in the direction Kiba had indicated and started scanning up the trees. She was about to give up because she had almost reached the top and not seen anything when something sparkled near the very top of the tree. She focused harder and saw it was actually somebody up there. The stranger was sitting on a large scroll and looking through some binoculars. There was no doubt they had found there target. Unfortunately their target had found them with his binoculars as well.

**Ch. 8 preview**

Was Gaara's desert coffin enough to defeat the blond stranger? Who is this target team 8 found and what will happen? What will be of team 7? Find out in Ch.8

Please let me know if it was a good idea to put in a preview. Personally I think its kinda corny, but if everyone likes it I would be willing to keep doing it.


	8. Chapter 8

Ok, everybody here it is. Sorry it took so long I really was thinking about stopping, but reading some reviews made me feel like I should keep going and at least finish this arc. I will try to update more frequently, but make no promises just know that this story will keep going. Well as always please review and let me know what you think.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**SUCCESS**

It was pitch black and hard to breathe. The thoughts going through her mind were not good thoughts. She should have listened and prepared better, she won't be able to have as much fun as she had hoped, and she had underestimated this brat. Oh well she thought a mission is a mission so I better hurry up and get this one over with. The sand was all over her body and she could not move well, but that didn't seem to matter. The second she heard his muffled voice she set off the bomb she was riding on(the giant clay bird). It not only canceled out the pressure of the desert coffin, but propelled her through the sand past the next smaller bomb she had sent out before she had been totally surrounded. Getting out of the center was the important thing because that was where the most pressure would be applied she set off her smaller bomb and was propelled further out through the sand. She had set bombs there for a purpose and now that purpose was being served she was escaping Gaara's desert coffin. Each small clay bird propelled her forward until she flew out of the ball of sand. She did not think that Gaara saw her because she had come out on the backside of the ball. So she had the ball between her and Gaara. She quickly opened her hand and a tiny bird was sitting on her palm she let it drop and quickly made hand seals and had another giant clay bird to ride she landed on it and was already working on her next work of art.

Gaara did not see her, but he felt her moving through the sand and knew she was going to be a difficult opponent to defeat. He moved the sand so he could see where she was. He caught sight of her landing on her bird and beginning to do something with her hands. He was not going to let her get away and a giant hand of sand shot from the ball next to the ninja and enveloped her. He looked at her with menacing eyes and asked. "What is your purpose here?"

She was once again almost caught off guard, but she had finished what she had wanted to do. She looked at her target, because that was what he was to her. She forced her hand outside of the sand she dropped the object she had just made and let out a croak of a laugh. She looked again at her target and started saying, "Tick, tick, tick, tick"

Gaara did not know what she was trying to do at first, but he quickly got the drift when she started mocking him with the ticking noise. He wanted to crush her right then, but didn't know the explosive power of the object she had let fall. He immediately let her go and sent all his sand speeding to get in front of the object as well as raising sand from the floor to create a giant barrier underneath the object. The sand was almost there when the stranger finally stopped ticking and said "BOOM!"

The explosion was enormous. At first it simply popped like a fire cracker and then all of a sudden the energy was released and a conflagration of fire and destruction started spreading outward. The explosions noise was ear splitting. Twice as loud as a jet engine and many times more deadly. Gaara knew he was exposed, but an explosion of that magnitude would decimate his village and he couldn't allow that. An ocean of sand rose above the buildings to protect the village. The sand above the explosion made a barrier to protect Gaara. The explosion kept growing forcing Gaara to reach further into his immense reserve of chakra to raise more sand to protect his village. He was reaching his limit raising such a quantity of sand and still did not know how much power the explosion held. Suddenly some of the sand above the explosion that had formed the barrier protecting him shot up towards him. Without breaking his concentration he looked up to see the reason the sand was charging at him. The sand moving towards him was the special sand from his gourd that always protected him. There were four small explosive birds flying towards him at a high speed, the sand was flying towards him to protect him. The sand was able to form a wall in front of him to protect him from the small birds giving itself time to form a protective sphere around him.

The explosion reached it's apex and started diminishing, but Gaara could not see this and kept expanding the sand to protect the village. The blond stranger laughed and snapped her finger. A hole exploded in Gaara's sphere and three birds rushed in. Earlier she had sent four birds and they were embedded in Gaara's gourd sand and she only set one off to fool Gaara. Throughout their encounter the motion off the sand ground the clay making it impossible for the sand to protect against. She set it off and the explosion displaced some of the sand to allow the birds in. She left one out so that the sphere would stay in place, and stay closed. While all this was happening she leisurely guided the large clay bird under the sphere and set off the three birds inside the sphere. The explosion had finally completely disappeared. The sand started falling back to the ground not all at once, but it was a marvelous sight to behold she thought. She looked up to see the sphere loose its form and let its occupant fall. She extended her arms and caught Gaara, "Hmm, you look cute, yes. I told Sasori he had nothing to worry about." She let out a short laugh and guided the bird back towards the edges of the village.

Hirai and Kankarou arrived on the roof of the Kazekages office in time to see the giant wall of sand start to crumble. They knew the wall was Gaara's doing, but they doubted he would let it fall in the manner they were witnessing. The sand looked like it was raining, like a huge solid roof on the village that was raining like clouds, after a few seconds though they were able to see what was happening above the clouds. What they saw shocked them, Gaara's lifeless form was caught by the enemy. Kankarou could not reach them from this distance and Hirai was too stunned to move. (NOOO! This can't be real!) Kankarou didn't know what to do for a second, but it didn't take long to compose himself. Looking at Hirai he started barking out orders. "Hirai write a letter to Temari and inform her of what's happened immediately and have an official message sent out to Konoha's Hokage asking for help." When she didn't move he yelled at her at the top of his lungs. "What the hell are you waiting for! Get moving!" She seemed to snap back to reality and went back into the Kazekages office. Kankarou finished formulating a plan and ran in behind her. "I'm going to follow them, when you finish up here follow my trail so you can back me up. Inform everyone of what's happened" With that being said Kankarou ran out of the office and was on his way.

Hirai grabbed a piece of paper and pen from the Kazekage's desk and quickly scribbled a note telling Temari of what had happened. She then took one of her kodachis and wrapped the paper around the handle. She held the kodachi in both hands and began to transfer some chakra into it. After about a minute she seemed satisfied with the amount of chakra. She ran out onto the balcony pulled her arm back and threw the Kodachi into the sky. Instead of falling to the ground the kodachi soared through the air gaining speed and altitude until it was out of sight. She quickly turned around and ran towards the message room to give them the news and have them deliver the message as fast as they could. The workers in the mail room were shocked at the news, but nevertheless hurried to get the task done. They had the message on the fastest falcon headed towards Konoha in no time at all. She then ran after Kankarou hoping she could reach him in time to help. Never in all her time in the village did she think the events which had unfolded before her eyes were possible. She had no idea what was going to happen, but for the first time in a long time she felt a worm of fear crawl into her mind. With insecurity of the future on her mind she ran out of the village tracking Kankarou.

Back in Konoha in a forest near a river there was a confrontation brewing. Jiraiya was sitting at the top of the tree "gathering information" when he felt someone's vision on him. He looked down to see a hyugga girl looking at him with her blood limit. She was accompanied by two boys. He wondered what they wanted, but then figured it probably didn't have anything to do with him. He was about to focus on gathering information when they called out to him. He spotted a bug and spit at it before he turned to look at them again. "What do you brats want!" He asked.

Kiba had let out a yell to get the targets attention because he looked like he was about to turn away from them. Their target didn't look that dangerous, in fact Kiba didn't think he looked like anything than an old pervert at all. What's more he didn't like the old mans tone of voice when he literally talked down to them. Shino just assessed the situation and observed everything unfolding before his eyes formulating a way to best handle the situation. Hinata turned off her blood limit as how it wasn't necessary any longer and looked down at her wrist. She was wearing a bracelet with WWND written on it. She told everybody that the N stood for Neji, not because she really looked up to him, but because she didn't want everybody to know what it really stood for and found out about her feelings. It stood for her favorite nin ever, Naruto. She knew it was a little bit foolish, the bracelet eased her mind at times and helped her focus. She looked back up at her target and was a little startled when Kiba let loose a yell. "Hey, you old geezer we're not brats! You better get down here so we can finish our mission without hurting you." Hinata had not expected this development and looked back up at her target to see how he reacted. He looked at them for a few seconds seriously and then let out a hearty laugh.

"You don't know who you're dealing with making such a threat. Hahaha" Jiraiya calmed down and prepared to do his introductory routine. He put his hand in front of him in his first pose and started talking. "I'm the legen-what the hell is wrong with you brats." He had dodged two kunais that Kiba had thrown at him just in time. He jumped down from the tree to confront his little adversaries face to face.

Kiba had grown overconfident, this old geezer is nothing special I could take him down with Akamaru he thought to himself. "Alright Akamaru, let's get him!" Akamaru prepared to attack he bared his teeth and growled in support to Kiba's challenge at the stranger. Hinat inhaled sharply she didn't like where this was going. Neither did Shino he was about to say something and was reaching up to adjust his glasses, but it was too late. "Get him Akamaru!" Kiba yelled and they took off towards their target. Dammint, Shino thought they could have at least closed the distance a little bit before they attacked. Hinata saw Kiba take off and was about to also go after him when she thought about it. Naruto would analyze the situation and then take the best course of action, she thought to herself. (side note, no I have no idea why she would think that, girls are crazy like that I guess.) So she stayed where she was and observed the target to try and identify his attacks during his fight with Kiba.

Jiraiya had no idea what the deal was with these kids. First that rude kid tried to hit him with kunai's and now he was coming at him with his giant dog. He let out a long sigh and raised his eyebrows, casually he reached up and bit his thumb. He quickly jumped back as Akamaru pounced on the spot he had just been standing at and flew towards a tree behind him while forming seals. Akamaru came after him. Jiraiya's feet hit the tree and he crouched to put his hand on the tree, a cloud of smoke appeared and then Jiraiya could be seen jumping above the smoke forming more seals. Akamaru had leaped to where Jiraiya was on the tree with the intent of pining him there he was still in the air when the smoke began to clear. Out of the smoke rushed a sword, hilt first colliding with Akamarus head right under the jaw. A giant frog matching Akamaru's size had appeared where Jiraiya had been only moments ago and propelled itself from the tree to make it's devastating blow. The hilt was moving forward when it connected and Akamaru's head followed the direction of the sword, but his body kept moving in the opposite direction. The impact of the blow made Akamarus body spin in the air, when he landed on the ground he was out cold.

"Akamaru! No! You bastard!" Kiba yelled as he rushed forward to attack the frog. In his rush he had lost sight of his target and focused on the frog because it was the one that had hurt Akamaru. That was a fatal mistake. Out of nowhere a kick connected with his midsection sending him flying back. He slammed into a tree and looked up through blurry vision to see the old geezer coming at him, but he was to dazed to do anything. Even before this thought had completed in his head his neck was caught in between the blades of a large fuuma shuriken. The blades were embedded into the tree trunk in a way that Kiba had to stay still or else he would cut his own neck.

"Ok, time out. Who the hell are you kids and what do you want with me." Shino and Hinata were impressed by the way this stranger had handled Kiba. Shino released two female insects as a precaution before answering. Jiraiya was waiting for some good answers.

"Who we are is of no importance, all that matters is that you know you will come with us." Shino said calmly, hoping he conveyed some sense of authority to this stranger. Instead he was rewarded with the strangers laughter. Shino did not like being laughed at.

"You're joking, right. Look here bug boy, I know you're of the aburame clan so I'll ask you this. You're insects feed on chakra, but how well will they do when my buddy back here eats them?" Jiraiya asked pointing back at the giant frog standing in front of Akamaru. The frog rolled out its tongue to show the two female insects shino had let out earlier. Shino was shocked and did not like where the situation was headed. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't all your male insects follow those females?" Jiraiya continued. "I asked a simple question and you failed to answer it correctly, if your friend here doesn't give me an answer I like you three will die here." The humor had left Jiraiyas face and he asked one more time. Directing the question to Hinata "Who are you and what do you want?"

Hinata froze for a little bit. This man had easily taken care of Shino and Kiba and was in a position to beat them, even if she were to attack there was a high probability that one of her team mates could die. She gathered herself and thought out how to best answer. There was no point in lying she figured if he didn't like the answer she would have to fight. Hinata worked up the nerves and answered, "W-we were sent by the Hokage to escort you to her office. That is all." Hinata was tense ready to fight even though she knew they might not win. The last thing she expected was for the stranger to go to where Kiba was now hanging unconscious and make the shuriken disappear letting catching Kiba's body. Shino was also shocked by this strangers actions. He put Kiba on his shoulders and walked towards Akamaru, he put Kiba down and lifted Akamaru onto the frogs back.

"Please follow us and you can leave once we're there." he told the frog. He then turned to Shino and Hinata and said. "Lead the way." He picked up Kibas body and carefully put him on his shoulder. "All you had to do was ask, I don't know why your friend attacked. Honestly..." Jiraiya started mumbling to himself amazed that Tsunade had sent these kids to get him. Well he thought at least it was better than the anbu he thought. Shino let out a breath of relief and Hinata smiled glad that they would be able to accomplish their mission without any problems. They turned and headed back towards the village with Jiraiya following them.

this is the kind of shuriken Sasuke used when he fought Zabuza

Next time we'll see what's going on with Naruto and team seven, and what about Gaara will Kankarou be able to save him. What role will Hirai play in this unfolding drama. You gotta stay tuned to find out.

Thanx snakeeyes I hope everybody feels the same way about the preview.


	9. Chapter 9

First off I want to thank you Danny (I can't believe I went 8 chs and nobody pointed out the review thing, its been a long time since I've felt so dumb). Yeah I know alot is like the cannon, but I will start deviating from it soon so no worries, and Naruto was with superfreak Jiraiya for three, count 'em three years, I thought it logical that it would rub off on him a little bit. Anyways to assauge your worries I'll just let you know that as the story progresses I plan to develop Naruto in- Oh wait what am I thinking hahaha, you'll just have to keep on reading to find out. Anyways thanx for the review it was very cool. Snakeeyes thank you too, I'm glad you liked my fighting scene. Sometimes it's so nervewracking not knowing what ppl think and if you are doing a good job so thanx for your review too. As always here's the latest chapter I hope everybody enjoys and feel free to review.

As always I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form but if I did this is how it would go.

**GETTING IT TOGETHER**

Naruto was about to go find out how to get team seven back together when a thought struck him. "Hey Kakashi sensei there would only be three of us on the team is that ok?" Naruto asked, he was looking around him while he waited for the answer.

"Usually, teams are made of four people, however there is no rule stating that that is the only way to do it. We could have as few as two on a team or up to seven people depending on the mission. Why do you ask?" Kakashi stopped and turned to look at his pupil. Sakura stood there waiting patiently.

Naruto was looking at Ino, more like making her blush like mad with his stare, before he turned to his former team. "I would hate to replace Sosuke, but if we were to replace him, I think we should do it with a girl." Kakashi raised his eyebrows in a questioning gesture. "We could use a girl that's strong and that could think on her feet. Nothing against Sakura, but Ino sure is pretty and she could do a lot more undercov." WHAM! Sakura had covered the distance between herself and Naruto and uppercutted him. She didn't pack her punch with chakra this time, but she almost did, Naruto fell to the ground dazed. Ino ran to his aid.

"Damn girl, why are you so violent towards Naruto he didn't do anything wrong." She was gently shaking Naruto waiting for him to get his bearings back, "I guess you really can't handle the truth." Sakura stared daggers at her old friend and started rolling up her sleeves when Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder before she did any more damage.

"Calm down Sakura, it is never wise to attack a comrade or a friend when they are down. You could live to regret that decision. Besides Ino does have a point, you are over reacting." Kakashi looked meaningfully at his former pupil.

Sakura felt horrible. Naruto was probably just playing around, but the thought of someone else taking Sosuke's place on their team infuriated her. Then to top it all off he compared her to Ino like that. It was to much for her to bear. "I'm sorry Kakashi, I don't know what came over me. I guess I'm just on edge."

Naruto had regained his composure and was sitting on the ground, Ino was getting up. "What the hell is wrong with you Sakura. That tw-umm too much." Naruto caught himself just in time, Kakashi and Ino looked at him curiously, but thought nothing of it. "I was just playing, I don't even know if we'll be a team again. I was just trying to ease the tension, crazy woman." Sakura looked like she wanted to respond, but she thought about it and maybe she did deserve what Naruto said.

"If that's all settled then I would like to get going and tell you two what we're going to do." Kakashi said. He turned around and started walking away. Sakura jogged to catch up with him and started walking alongside him waiting for an explanation.

Damn that Sakura, Naruto thought, she didn't even wait for me. He was dusting himself off and getting ready to follow when he remembered Ino. She was looking at him with a little concern in her eyes. Naruto chuckled "Don't worry about me Ino, I'll be fine. It was nice running into you, I gotta go. Take care of yourself and I'll see you around." Naruto waved at her and took off running to catch up with Kakashi and Sakura. Ino absently waved back thinking to herself, I'd better watch myself around that boy he's so smooth now, I don't know when he's serious or when he's playing. She turned around and was about to head into Ichikaru's stand when she saw who was in it. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Temari. Flashback.

A long while back before Temari's visits became frequent Ino and Shikamaru were starting to talk a little bit as more than just friends. However Temari had put a stop to that. Shikamaru had done a favor for Ino and she had re-payed him with a hug. Later on that day she ran into Temari and she invited Ino to a cup of tea. They had the usual small talk and exchange of pleasantries, but not long into the conversation Temari cut to the chase. "So Ino, what's going on with you and Shikamaru? You two are just friends right?"

Ino not suspecting anything was honest about her feelings. "We've been on the same team for a long time and he has a lot of good qualities about him. You could say we're just friends right now, but one day we might be something more. You just never know." Ino smiled at her companion, but the smile fell away pretty quickly when she saw the cold eyes Temari was looking at her with. "W-what's the matter Temari."

"Wrong answer Ino. I was in town earlier today and I saw you hugging him, at first I thought it was a hug between friends and I could have lived with that. Now though, I know you wanted it to be more than that and I'll get straight to the point." Ino did not like where this was going. "If you value you're life you will never be more than friends with Shikamaru."

Ino was pissed now, "Who the hell do you think you are to threaten me! I'm not afraid of you and Shikamaru can choose who he likes of his own free will!" Ino was standing and getting angrier by the second.

Temari stayed sitting down and took a sip of her tea, she then coolly said. "Shikamaru likes me even if he doesn't know it yet. Furthermore I have studied all your moves and if you think you can beat me you are sadly mistaken, if you use your little mind control trick my summoned beasts will destroy your body. You know what happens when your body dies don't you, well I do. Don't think I'm a merciful ninja, I will get what I want and if you're in my way, I will remove you by any means possible."

Ino had had enough. She reached for her kunai to take care of this arrogant bitch, but her kunai's were gone. She looked down and saw all her weapons were gone. "What the.." When she looked back at her rival there was a ferret standing on Temaris shoulder, and sitting on the table in front of Temari were all of Ino's weapons. Ino had never met someone who outmatched her like this, unease started to creep into her mind.

"That was rude Ino. I wasn't even done talking, now that I know about this development I will keep tabs on Honoka so if anything I don't like happens I will be here to take care of it shortly." Temari looked up at Ino and smiled as if nothing had happened, "Do we understand each other?" She asked.

Damn her Ino thought. She nodded and conceded to Temari. It was one of the hardest thing Ino had ever done, but in this situation she didn't really see the point of fighting with this girl. Shikamaru was no Sosuke after all. Back to the present.

Ino turned and walked away from the Ichikaru stand, even though she had hated Temari for what she did, now that she looked back on the event. It was all for the best, Ino was glad to still have her freedom and knew she would find someone to make her happy. Inside the stand Temari smiled knowing that at last she no longer had to worry about her rival. Her smile vanished though when the realization struck her that she still had a long way to go to make Shikamaru hers.

Naruto had finally caught up with Kakashi and Sakura and was walking alongside them with his hands behind his head. "So Kakashi what is we have to do."

Kakashi thought it was time to let them know what the task was, so he began to explain. "Before you proved yourselves worthy of being on my team by learning to understand teamwork. The test this time will be the same. I will have two bells and you must take them from me. Failure to do so will result in your expulsion from my team." Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sakura and saw that they were smiling. "I take it from your expressions that you underestimate me. I will not hold anything back, from this point on if we are on the same team we will be comrades. This means that you will be responsible for my life and you will have to prove yourselves worthy of that trust. Do not think that either of you have seen the full extent of my skills and should not underestimate me. This is all the advice I will give you both until we reach the training ground and begin the exams." Naruto and Sakura were no longer smiling.

Naruto looked at Kakashi and said in a serious tone. "We won't let you down Kakashi-san, count on that, right Sakura." Sakura looked at Naruto and nodded.

Back out in the desert we look down from a birds eye view and see a dot moving across the sand. As we move closer the speed at which she is moving becomes more apparent. Hirai is running at a great speed with her kodachi in one hand and three kunais in the other hand. She hasn't felt this distressed in a very long time. The people she had come to care for were once again disappearing from her life. All she could do was run as fast as she could to find Kankarou and try to help. She couldn't slow down. It was hard for her to keep track of time or distance because there was only sand in the desert and the sun seemed to move so much slower than it should. This only pushed her to run faster. Twenty minutes and many miles later she saw a dot in the never changing landscape. She sped up hoping against hope that that dot was not Kankarou. The closer she got the more her fear was confirmed. She reached into herself and pushed herself harder reaching a near inhuman speed as she raced to where Kankarou lay. She put up her Kunai and Kodachi as soon as she reached him he was laying down facing the way she had come from. She hunkered down and looked to see his condition.

In a weak voice Kankarou said, "What the hell do you think your doing!" He looked up at her and continued, "Never, I mean never run blindly like that, you would have been killed had this been a trap." Hirai was stung by Kankarou's words she was on the verge of tears, after all the things that had happened to her recently her emotions were finally bubbling to the surface. She got up.

"I'm sorry, I won't make that mistake again when I find the enemy." She stepped over Kankarou and was about to keep running when she felt a vice like grip on her ankle, she looked down to see Kankarou's hand clamped there.

Kankarou was on his hand and knees and his next words oozed anger. "What the hell is wrong with you. You would abandon me and risk you life so recklessly. What good would two dead ninjas in the desert do." Kankarou did not look up as he spoke. "Think Hirai, that is what we try to teach you. Yet after all our lessons and hard work you loose your cool and throw all our lessons out the window. Tell me then what did you plan to do if you came close to the people who took Gaara, what have you learned from finding me here."

Hirai felt ashamed upon hearing Kankarous words because they all hit home. She did not know what she was supposed to do, she had not analyzed the situation and what was worst she was about to abandon her comrade because she hadn't thought. "I'm sorry Kankarou-san I-I-I don't know what to do." Tears of frustration fell from Hirais eyes. She sobbed once and tried to stem her emotions. "I have failed you and the village."

Kankarou fell into a sitting position and his next words were in a softer tone. "Don't cry Hirai we all fail at one time or another, I wouldn't be in this situation had I not failed. I too did not think when I came after Gaara." He let our a long sigh, "We can't let our failures overshadow our purpose though. We need re-enforcements we have to head back to the village to wait for them to arrive."

Hirai felt a sense of relief knowing that Kankarou still had it together. Even though he was not her favorite person she had come to respect him. Through her relief she had almost forgotten, "Kankarou, what about Gaara. You and Temari are the strongest behind him, who can help us and what if we can't find him." She looked down to see Kankarou shaking his head in disbelief.

He looked up at her and said, "You still are not using your head. We alone cannot help Gaara right now only track him. I would imagine that you would have seen the logic of this."

Hirai looked a little lost, "B-but how wi"

Kankarou cut her off. "This is what we're going to do. First you will summon one of your beasts to track down Gaara then it can relay the information to us. Then you are going to help me get back to the village. On the way there I will explain the rest of our plan."

Hope was finally coming back to Hirai. She bit her pinky and formed the seals to perform the summoning. She drew from all the chakra that she could muster and successfully summoned a ferret. The ferret was small coming up to her knee. It quickly climbed up onto her shoulder to receive her instructions. After she told it what she wanted it to do it scurried back down to the ground and scurried away. She then bent down to help Kankarou up. She put his arm around her neck and asked, "What now?"

"We head back to the village, I feel very weak so I won't talk in order conserve energy so you don't have to carry me all the way and we can jog when possible." Kankarou said weakly.

Hirai nodded and said, "Hai, hang on we're headed back." She then began making her way back to the village.

Back in Konoha. Team seven finally made it to the practice field. Once there Naruto immediately went down on his haunches and started digging through his backpack frantically searching for something. Kakashi moved his gaze to Sakura who had started stretching, he looked back at Naruto who seemed to have found what he was looking for because he was now preparing to do some stretches. Kakashi walked a good distance away from them and turned to face them. He took out and held to small bells. They made a small noise and got Sakura and Naruto's attention. "Now that I have your attention, these are your targets, make me proud you two. You have one hour."

In another part of Konoha Jiraiya stopped in front of Hinata and Shino. "We need to have these two checked out to make sure they weren't seriously injured. Do you know where they usually go to take care of the dog?"

**PREVIEW**

Finally the showdown between Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura takes place. Will team seven finally be together again or will Kakashi prove to much for them to handle. What is Kankarou going to tell Hirai. All this and more in ch. 10

Hinata nodded, "Hai, this way." She led the way to the Kiba's sister's office, followed by Jiraiya and Shino. Shino was still wary of this target and kept wondering to himself, who is this guy.


	10. Chapter 10

Well finally I'm in the double digit chapter, (yeah, baby) So first I wanna thank everyone who left reviews keep 'em coming. Ok, Danny all in due time. As for Naruto yes it will definetely be NaruHina, but I want to develop them in my own way so that when I do get them together it will mean that much more. I'm really not fond of the whole falling in love and moving from there I think and hope that this story will be more than just a love story. (It'll be an Epic) J/K I don't know yet, but hopefully everybody will enjoy it. Also there is a whole lot more story in my head so keep checking. Oh and one more thing they already sent the message to Temari, so yeah keep reading.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**CLONE WAR**

Kakashi looked at his former pupils and said, "You have one hour." Naruto and Sakura rushed at him together unleashing a flurry of physical attacks. Kakashi dodged them all with ease, Sakura quickly raised her foot and brought it down with all her might and made the ground underneath Kakashi tremble. Kakashi lost his balance for a second, but that was the only opening Sakura needed she threw a chakra filled punch that connected squarely with Kakashi's jaw. Naruto was surprised to see how much his team mate had improved, so much so that he had thrown only one punch which was blocked and just watched her go at Kakashi. Unfortunately as soon as Sakuras fist made contact Kakashi turned into a log with a puff of smoke. They had once again fallen for the replacement jutsu, Kakashi stood off in the distance looking at Naruto and Sakura. "It seems you both still have much to learn." Kakashi let out an exasperated breath. "I haven't even said start yet."

Naruto smiled slyly. "No, sensei it would appear that it is you who have forgotten one of your own lessons."

Kakashi looked at Naruto long and hard trying to determine what he meant. "And what would that be Naruto?"

A voice directly behind Kakashi whispered, "Never let your enemy sneak up behind you." and Kakashi felt the tip of a kunai press itself against his back and then it was taken away. He looked back to see Naruto. Kakashi was stunned at Naruto's tactic and how easily he would have lost had he said start at that moment it seemed Kakashi had been the one to underestimate his pupils.

He looked around at Naruto and asked "When did you do it?" The Naruto he was looking at disappeared in a puff of smoke and the answer came once again from behind. Kakashi was creeped out by this development.

"You looked at me while I was looking through my bag, I did it when you looked at Sakura warming up." Naruto said matter of factly.

Kakashi was now starting to see that this would not be easy, but it was no time to back down. "Well then I guess now is a good a time as any. Let's begin." Kakashi took off running towards Sakura at a fast run. Naruto stepped forward to start following him when he stepped onto a smoke bomb. He was instantly surrounded by smoke, he held his breath and ran out of the cloud in a defensive stance trying to avoid any more surprises. He had to admit that Kakashi did that well. Naruto didn't even see when he set that trap.

Sakura got into her fighting stance waiting for Kakashi. Kakashi threw two kunais at her and kept coming. Sakura pulled out one of her own kunais and deflected one of Kakashis Kunais and dodged the other one. Kakashi stopped a few feet in front of her, he changed directions and made a quick step to his right. At that very moment there was an explosion to Sakuras left and behind her. She had failed to notice that Kakashis kunai's had exploding notes attached to them. She was surrounded by smoke and lost sight of Kakashi. When the smoke cleared Naruto and Sakura were standing alone looking at each other. Sakura seeing how the situation had unfolded ran directly at Naruto grabbed his hand and started running dragging him behind.

"What the hell are you doing Sakura? We gotta find Kakashi." Naruto said. He wanted to pull back and stop her, but was unsure of what to do because maybe she had a good reason to react the way she did.

"Wrong Naruto we have to loose Kakashi. He has a tactical advantage right now in that he knows where we are, but we don't know where he is. We need to think of a strategy quickly, we have less than an hour to get this done." Sakura said. She led them to a forested area and set off a few exploding notes to hide where they went. Sakura had let go of Naruto's hand and followed Sakura up a tree where they sat on a branch and gathered themselves.

Naruto caught his breath and looked at his former team mate thoughtfully. He knew it probably wasn't the most opportune time, but he wanted to tell her sooner than later. "Sakura-chan, I well I wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten my promise to you." He looked down at his feet wondering how to proceed. "I guess I just wanted to say I won't fail this time Sakura."

Sakura looked at her team mate and felt horrible about the way she had treated him so far. She knew what promise he was talking about she and it made her glad that he was her friend. "It's ok Naruto don't worry about that right now. We need to worry about getting this exam out of the way and moving on."

Naruto nodded his head in fierce determination glad that he had gotten that out of the way. He knew it was kind of dumb, but he couldn't really focus on the fight if he had this nagging thought running through in the back of his head. "So got any ideas?" Naruto inquired.

Sakura shook her head, "I haven't really come up with a strategy yet, all I keep thinking is that we have to get those bells." She hated that she couldn't think of a strategy right now, she tried breathing slowly to try to get her mind under control. As she let out a deep breath Naruto started talking.

"Let me see, well first we have to find Kakashi or force him to show himself. Then we have to find a way to get the bells away from him." Naruto looked at Sakura with a gleam in his eyes. "What do you think?" A smile was starting to form on Naruto's face.

"Hmm, I-I" Sakuras mind cleared up. Naruto breaking the mission down into objectives helped her think better. "We would be better suited to force Kakashi to show himself, right. Because, it could take us forever to find him if he keeps switching hiding places." Sakura still didn't really see where this was going. Naruto was about to clear it up for her.

"Right, so what I was thinking was making a bunch of clones to go after him. Then you would find out..." Naruto whispered the rest of the plan to Sakura.

Kakashi was watching them from a hidden distance. Wishing he could hear what they were planning. Even though he would not admit it to them he was being very cautious around them. They had both been trained by Sannin and if that weren't enough these two had the potential to be even better. Even though Kakashi was older and supposedly their mentor they had done a good job of catching up to him. He did not have as much advantage over them as he would like.

As he was pondering his situation and wondering how they were going to go about completing their task a loud cry broke the silence. When he looked up in the direction of the noise his eyes widened. There were about 30-40 Narutos flooding the area. Dammit Kakashi thought at this rate I won't be able to hide for much longer. The Naruto clones were starting to scour the area looking for Kakashi. Kakashi brought his hands together forming seals then there was an explosion of smoke. When the smoke cleared there was about 30-40 Kakashis running out from behind the bushes and shrubbery.

Sakura had to admit she was impressed with Naruto's plan. When he first told it to her she thought it was rudimentary and thought it would fail. She only agreed to it because she couldn't think of a better idea at the moment, however the more she thought about it the more sense it made. She had stayed up in the tree while Naruto formed his clones and headed out, sure enough just as Naruto had said Kakashi had made clones to counter Naruto's. Now it was up to her to run through all the fights that were about to take place and find the real Kakashi. (Inner Sakura was laughing diabolically, "We will crush you Kakashi-sensei" she cackled with glee.) She waited patiently in her spot until the opportune time to jump in. She felt very surreal looking down at the events transpiring below her. It was like a battle was about to be waged by two clans, but in fact it was only two people who could make a lot of clones.

Meanwhile the Narutos had noticed the Kakashis appearing in the area and they all began charging towards them. One Naruto ran in front of the others pulling out a kunai and letting loose an ear shattering war cry. Kakashi and his clones stood their grounds waiting for the oncoming fight. As Naruto came closer he threw the kunai and it buried itself to the hilt in the ground closest to the nearest Kakashi. Kakashi looked down at the kunai and when he looked up the Naruto's were upon them.

Kakashi narrowly escaped the first Naruto's attack dodging to one side. He immediately had to dodge the oncoming kick by the Naruto following the first one. The first one had already moved on to engage another Kakashi. The second Naruto also went by him to find another target. Already Kakashi was starting to regret his decision in thinking he could manage this situation. He had already lost his advantage because being where he was at he could no longer find Sakura. His only real hope was to remain undetected for another forty five minutes after which time the test would be over. Unfortunately that was much easier thought than done. Already Kakashi and Naruto clones were disappearing in clouds of smoke, and now Kakashi was faced with another Naruto that had decided to make him his adversary.

Sakura saw that the battle was starting to heat up and saw that she had the opportunity to enter the battlefield undetected. Naruto's words went through her head. All you have to do is find the real Kakashi, that should be our first goal. Naruto had made it sound so simple, but she had told him she could do it. One of the lessons she learned from studying under Tsunade-san was to be able to discern those with a pulse from those without quickly. She remembered her lessons and then took a deep breath as she readied herself. She let out a long breath and stealthily ran down the tree to join the battle. As soon as she hit the ground she ran towards the first Kakashi she saw and touched his neck as she flew past him. She ran to the next Kakashi and repeated the procedure, she gained speed as she gained confidence and continued to do this operation efficiently. Keeping in mind what she was looking for she deftly wove in between combatants.

Kakashi was surprised by the level of skill Naruto was displaying. Kakashi was having a difficult time beating this Naruto and the worst part was Kakashi didn't even know if he was facing a clone or the real thing. Also he was unable to really guard himself if he was attacked by a second Naruto. Kakashi wasn't about to give up though.

Naruto was enjoying this battle so much. It was fun to be able to cut loose. He had eliminated one Kakashi already and was working on his second one. He hoped Sakura was close to finding the real Kakashi soon, but wanted to enjoy himself while he could. Naruto fought the Kakashi's on their level and thought they were doing the same trying to only buy time. Kakashi moved a little bit faster than Naruto, but that was ok Naruto wasn't at that big of a disadvantage. Besides he thought he wanted to show off later and if he did what he wanted to here it wouldn't be as pleasing to him. "Dammit Sakura hurry up I don't want to do anything to mess this up." Naruto shouted, god how he wanted to show off.

Sakura was blazing through the field with only a few more Kakashi's to check. A negative thought was forming in her head. What if Naruto was wrong and Kakashi did leave the battle she thought to herself. With this thought going through her head at that moment she almost missed it. She had found the real Kakashi, she reached for her kunai with a blurr of her hand and threw it up in the air. Kakashi turned in time to see Sakura holding her hand towards the sky when the exploding note on the kunai went off Kakashi was instantly seized by two Narutos. Dammit he thought.

The two Naruto's had barely touched him when there was a cloud of smoke and a kunai fell to the ground and exploded.

At the sound of the explosion all of the Naruto's started disappearing in puffs of smoke. The two that had touched Kakashi remained near Sakura until the real Naruto joined them. The two clones then appeared to hand something to Sakura and Naruto.

Kakashi was watching them stunned at what was developing before his eyes could it be that they got his bells and he didn't even notice. He reached for the bells and found them there, but a bit of doubt had entered his mind now. He brought them up to eye level to inspect them when they made a jingle. At that very moment a fist came flying through the bush behind where Kakashi was hiding. The fist was followed by Sakura and the fist connected. Kakashi fell to the ground letting go of the bells as he did so in order to catch himself. Naruto exploded through the bushes and pounced on the bells picking them up quickly. Naruto and Sakura were successful. Naruto was holding the bell like it was a treasure that was going to give him god like powers and Sakura was holding the bell with both her hands while inner Sakura was insane with joy. (We did it we beat Kakashi. YYYYAAAYYY!)

After the exam was over and they had all recovered their composure Kakashi asked the question that had been burning in his mind. "You two planned that all out?"

Naruto and Sakura were both still wearing huge grins. "Hell yeah!" Naruto said. Sakura promptly slapped him in the back of his head.

"Yeah, it was actually mostly Naruto's plan" Sakura said and then mumbled "If you can believe that." She then went on to explain while Naruto nursed the back of his head where a small lump was starting to rise. "Naruto said you would create the clones and fight him because the best place to hide is out in the open." Kakashi's eyes widened as she went on, he had completely underestimated them. For some reason he thought their strategy would be something foolish and he had allowed himself to fall for their plan. Kakashi was impressed. Sakura continued "Once we got you to engage Naruto he said you wouldn't really be able to maneuver so I would then find the real you and alert Naruto as soon as possible." Sakura grinned at the next part, "I didn't have much trouble finding you thanks to Tsunade-sans training, see your clones don't breathe or anything like that so it was easy to tell the difference. Anyways, I noticed earlier that you had used the replacement jutsu so I thought it was possible you would do it again. So we decided to try to get the bells from you when I set off the exploding note, but made a backup plan." Naruto suddenly interrupted.

"Damn right, Kakashi we fooled you. Hahaha we tricked you into thinking we succeeded so you would pull out the bells and we would find you then. You can't perform the replacement jutsu with just one hand. Hahaha." Naruto was once again hit on the back of the head only this time with enough force to send him to the ground. "What the hell is wrong with you Sakura" Naruto said in a weak voice.

"Baka! don't interrupt me like that again, if you know what's good for you. Anyways Kakashi sensei that was our plan." Sakura said.

Kakashi eyed them impressed with their strategy, but decided it would not look good if they got to full of themselves. "The plan was good until the last part, had I investigated your actions or not pulled the bells out your plan would have failed." He saw their faces drop a little bit, they really hadn't thought of that, but Kakashi got what he wanted in that they did not grow overconfident. "However I am impressed with how you did. We can now officially be a team again." He got up and turned around.

"Where are you going Kakashi." Sakura asked.

"To the Hokages office we need to make this official and let her know her know our services are now at her disposal."

In front of the Hokages office Jiraiya took a deep breath. "So, you guys wanna come in to give your report right." Jiraiya looked at them hopefully. Shino simply nodded his head. Jiraiya felt relieved, with them in the same room it was less likely that Tsunade would try to kill him. Hopefully.

**PREVIEW**

What will the Hokage tell or do to Jiraiya? Whats going on in the sand of village? Check out the next ch. to find out.


	11. Chapter 11

Ok, first off thank you all for the reviews. Keep them coming feedback, suggestions, and questions are always welcome. Well here is ch. 11 I hope everybody enjoys it.

As always I don't own Naruto in any way shape of form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**INTRODUCTIONS**

Kiba had come around quickly after reaching the veterinarians office, Shino and Hinata had quickly explained to him what had transpired. Jiraiya had luckily been with Akamaru in another room when Kiba came about otherwise they might have had a harder time calming Kiba down and explaining what had happened. He had been really distressed at the fact that he had been separated from Akamaru, but after some convincing believed their story. Once everything was settled Hinata offered Kiba a glass of water and excused herself. She said she would check on Akamaru and Jiraiya and see how they were doing. They still didn't know who Jiraiya was so they simply referred to him as the target. "Be careful Hinata we still don't know much about him." Shino warned. Hinata nodded respectfully and headed to the door.

As she reached the door, it flew open. Standing before her was Jiraiya accompanied by Akamaru. "So how is everything, I see our sleeping beauty is finally awake." Jiraiya was being energetic and carefree as usual. "This guy here is doing ok. It wasn't anything serious. He was just knocked out." he said referring to Akamaru. Akamaru let out a bark, he seemed to have no problem getting along with Jiraiya. Kiba noticed this and it made him forget his negative feelings towards this stranger. "You should get ready so we could head out to the hokages office." He noticed Hinata standing right in front of him. "Whats wrong?" He asked, he couldn't really interpret her look, but she didn't move so he naturally got curious.

Hinata reached into her pocket and wrapped her hand around something she had be holding onto and answered in a soft respectful voice. "I was going to check on you, but everything seems to be ok. I think I will wait for you all outside the hospital." Jiraiya nodded his head and seeing nothing wrong with that moved aside so she could make her way out, Akamaru also moved out of the way.

After Hinata had passed and made her way out Jiraiya poked his head into the room and told Shino and Kiba. "I'll wait for you two out here while you two get ready." He withdrew and closed the door.

Hinata walked outside of the building and let out a long breath. She didn't mind the mission they had been given, but she had wanted to give Naruto her gift. She was still holding it in her hand and now brought it out of her pocket and lifted her hand near her face. She opened her palm to inspect it and make sure nothing had happened to it. She let out another deep breath. She wondered what Naruto would think, hopefully he would like it. She had no idea how she would react if he didn't, she thought she might just shatter into a thousand pieces if he said it was ugly. "No. That won't happen." She said out loud, referring not to Narutos reaction, but to herself breaking down. She may be shy, but she was not weak and she was determined to do what she wanted to do and if it went bad she would have to move on. Breaking down was not an option. She put the gift back in her pocket and looked up and down the streets wondering what he was doing at the moment. It was hard to keep herself from hoping she would see him walking down the street and presenting the perfect opportunity to present her gift to him. She guessed it was that hope that had really brought her out here, but she wouldn't ever admit that, not even to herself. After a couple of minutes passed the door of the building opened and out stepped the rest of team 8 accompanied by Jiraiya.

Kiba looked at his team mate and smiled broadly. "Hey Hinata, you ready to get this damn mission over with? Now that I'm ok we can take this old geezer to the hokages office." He said energetically.

Jiraiya looked at Kiba and his eye twitched. "What the hell is that supposed to mean you bastard. I could have killed you or left you for dead. You should show a little more respect for your superiors."

Kiba looked at Jiraiya forgetting all about Hinata. "What did you say you old bastard, I'll beat that attitude out of" before he could finish Hinata had snuck up right behind him and smacked him hard in the back of the head. "Oww, what the... what was that for Hinata." Kiba asked, he turned to look at his team mate and shrank back a little bit when he say the look on her face.

Hinata, usually calm and collected saw what Kiba was doing as an act punishable by death. He was once again delaying the meeting between her and Naruto. That bastard she thought, first he gets beat so they have to take him and his puppy to get checked up and then he wants to waste more time fighting the target who has proven he is superior to him. Hinata's anger was not like Sakura's anger though that just exploded to the surface. The only real sign you could tell that she was angry was that her eyes seemed to go a shade darker, even then it was hard to know, because you would think that it was a trick of the light. "Don't be foolish Kiba." Hinata said in a low intense voice. "This man has already shown he can defeat you. Why don't you just accept it an let us get this mission over with." Kiba now pressing his back up against the wall weakly nodded his head.

"S-sure thing Hinata." Kiba had seen this look only once or twice and it still scared him. He knew better than to think it was a trick of the light after the time he encountered it. "Let's get going then."

Jiraiya had simply shrugged not entirely sure of what was going on and decided it was no big deal and set out with team eight in tow.

Now here they stood in front of the hokages office. It was the moment of truth Jiraiya thought. Time to see what evil plan Tsunade wanted to set in motion. He took a deep breath after being assured his companions would not leave him here by himself. The ninjas guarding the hokages office opened the door for them and they walked through. The door was then shut behind them.

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. So they finally made it she thought, its about time. The thing she noticed though was, "You're late Jiraiya. I told you I would make you sorry if you were late didn't I." She eyed him menacingly.

Jiraiya let out a nervous laugh and put his arm around Kiba. "What had happened was, well you see this young boy was hurt and I couldn't in good conscience leave him so we took him to the clinic to get checked out." He looked to Shino and Hinata for confirmation. They both nodded their heads in agreement. Jiraiya let out a breath of relief. He had been prepared to use Kiba as a shield if anything happened and he kept his hand where it was just to be safe. He had no reservations about throwing Kiba in the line of danger in order to make his getaway.

Tsunade had lifted an eyebrow. "If you say that's what happened and these guys corroborate your story than I'll let you slide this time." She directed her next comments to Shino, "You and your team did well." At these words Hinata turned and made to leave, but was stopped by the hokage's words. "Where do you think your going. I am about to give all of you your new mission."

In unision Kiba, Hinata, and Jiraiya all exclaimed, "NANI!" Jiraiya was outraged. "What the hell is the meaning of this. I'm not somebody you can boss around. You can't just give me missions whenever you please."

Tsunade's anger erupted upon hearing Jiraiya's audacious comments. She rose to her feet with blinding speed and slammed her palm on her desk. She had inadvertently put to much chakra in her movement a the desk shattered under the impact. "How dare you, you are a Sannin!" Tsunade roared. There was rage and fire in her eyes now. "You have a duty to your village and I am the hokage of this village so you have to answer to me." Jiraiya's grip on Kiba's shoulder tightened. "Now look what you made me do, that was my favorite desk you bastard."

"Calm down, Tsunade-san, the desk was all you. I had nothing to do with that." Jiraiya said as she stepped over the remains of what used to be her desk. She starred daggers at him and made her move. She flew at him ready to land a blow that would send him flying through the building. Jiraiya reacted before she could get to him. He swung Kiba in front of him and grabbed him with both hands. Holding him in front of him. Jiraiya knew that this would still hurt like hell, but at least Kibas body would lessen the blow. He prepared himself, but nothing happened. Only a breeze reached him. He put Kiba down and Kiba immediately slumped to the ground. The breeze had apparently come from the velocity of Tsunades punch. Fortunately she had stopped before her fist connected with Kiba, unfortunately the punch had created enough force to knock out Kiba.

"Dammit Jiraiya, sometimes I think you really are scum." She leaned down to revive Kiba. "I haven't even told you your mission and you provoked all these events." Jiraiya was about to open his mouth, but Tsunade raised her hand to stop him, and continued. "I've known you since we were kids and the thing you do best is piss me off. Sometimes you shock me by acting nice or normal, but what do you expect, don't answer. Thats a rhetorical question." Kiba inhaled a sharp breath of air and coughed a few times before opening his eyes. Tsunade had regained some semblance of her composure as she rose to her feet. "Listen to me before you go off. As far as you are concerned I know you do what you can to help the village. When you first got back from this recent trip was the first time I spoke to you face to face in a long time and only received messages from you once in a while." She walked back to her chair and sat down, Hinata and Shino meanwhile went to check on Kiba to make sure he was all right. "The mission I will assign is directed at Kurenai's former group moreso than you." At these words Shino and Hinata looked up. What was she talking about they wondered.

Elsewhere, Shikamaru and Temari were walking out of the ramen stand. Temari stopped and looked around, when she saw nobody was around she turned to Shikamaru and smiled. "You know Shikamaru, that was nice. We should eat here more often." She said.

Shikamaru was speechless. Was she being serious or was this some kind of twisted joke. Either way he felt a slight blush and answered. "Yeah, that might not be too troublesome." He hoped she was being honest he honestly had a good time with her today. He was about to say so when he heard a faint whistling sound growing louder. He turned to see what was making that sound and Temari followed his gaze. At first he didn't see it, but then all of a sudden it jumped into his field of vision. It looked like a kunai from this distance, but it was traveling at ungodly speed and growing larger by the second. He saw the trajectory was headed right for Temari. He barely had time to react, but he was able to push her out of the way as the object flew past her and embedded itself into the ground. She had been to slow to react and had it not been for Shikamaru she may have been killed just now. "What was that!" Shikamaru asked nobody in particular, but when he looked down and saw the look on Temari's face he wished someone would answer.

Temari was still on the ground staring at the Kodachi sticking out of the ground. She had recognized it immediately and the thought that the kodachi was here in front of her made her instantly start to worry. She started reaching absently for the hilt when she saw that a note had been attached to the hilt. She knew only Hirai would do something like this, but that she had done it over such a great distance impressed and worried her at the same time. She worried because she didn't know what could possibly make Hirai take this action. She untied the intricate knots tying the note to the hilt. Had anybody else done it they may not have been able to read the note because the manner in which they were tied if untied wrong would destroy the note. Shikamaru was now standing behind her watching her with an alert expression. She opened the note and read it, disbelief spread over her face as she read it. She read it three more times to memorize the words and realize that this was not some sort of joke or delusion. She was stunned by the news and couldn't react. Even when the news settled in it felt to surreal for her to really show emotion. She slowly turned to Shikamaru and in a mechanical voice said. "I need to talk to your Hokage. Right now." She didn't even look at Shikamaru as she got up, she then bent down and pulled Hirai's kodachi out of the dirt. Shikamaru knew the situation was serious by the way she was acting and simply nodded. When she straightened up they left to head to the hokage's office.

Back to the Hokages office. Tsunade had finished explaining what the mission entailed. Shino asked a question "Is there another purpose for giving us this mission. No disrespect intended, but I believe the three of us may be overdoing it." A huge sweat drop appeared when he saw the expression Tsunade was making.

Tsunade was trying to hold in her laughter, but to no avail. She started laughing histerically. At this point there were sweat drops on everybody's heads. They were all wondering about the hokages sanity. Once she regained her composure she looked at them still stifling burst of laughter and spoke. "You-you think that you three can handle this oaf, oh man I needed a laugh." Tsunade had another laughing attack, this one only lasted a few seconds though.

Jiraiya grumbled to himself in a barely audible voice. "I'm not an oaf, why are you always so mean baa-chan."

"Now look," Tsunade said. Oh no Jiraiya thought did she hear me. Tsunade continued "This guy, is a very powerful ninja. He will be a handful, but he can also teach you three much, that is one reason that I am sending you with him. Another reason is so that Kurenai will be free to perform other duties for me." Tsunade was once again being serious she crossed her arms across her chest and finished off by saying. "Not that I need to explain my motives to you three or you Jiraiya. Now that that is taken care of I believe formal introductions are in order." She looked at the young nin and gestured to Jiraiya as she spoke. "You three may have already figured this out, but this guy is Jiraiya one of the legendary sannin."

Shino and Hinatas eyes showed some recognition at this comment. Kiba looked as lost as ever "What does that mean." Jiraiya had been standing proud and when he heard these comments he slouched a little bit.

Shino put his hand on Kiba and told him he would explain later. Tsunade looked at Jiraiya and said "These three are, what." she asked Jiraiya was waving his hand at her as if saying she should stop.

"I know who they are already my student told me all about them." He cleared his throat and pointed at Kiba, "You are Kiba, the dog bastard." Kiba reacted strongly wanting to lunge and attack Jiraiya. Shino put a hand on him though to prevent any abuse Kiba would suffer from another encounter with Jiraiya.

"Why you, I'm not a bastard." Kiba snarled.

"That's the way my student described you to me, so next." he pointed at Shino "you are Shino, the creepy bug dude." Shino raised his eyebrows interested in who Jiraiyas student could be that he would say things like that about him and his team. "aannnddd you." He said pointing at Hinata "are that weird girl with cool eyes, Hinata" The rejection gong sounded for Hinata and she was in her own little world. She couldn't believe what Jiraiya had said and asked herself, 'why do people think I'm weird'.

Tsunade watched as the introductions finished, then spoke. "Now you have your mission and have been introduced you can leave and commence your mission." Jiraiya nodded and went towards the door. The former team eight slowly followed all wondering about Jiraiya's student. Jiraiya opened the door and walked through it.

Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura were almost to the Hokages office when the door opened in front of them and out stepped Jiraiya. A broad smile plastered itself on Naruto's face and he approached Jiraiya. He yelled "SENSEI!" to get his attention. Jiraiya turned towards Naruto and started smiling as well.

**PREVIEW**

What will happen to Naruto? Finally the long awaited meeting between Hinata and Naruto will she work up the courage to face him or walk away? What is going on with the sand and is Kankarou ok? Oh yeah the suspense is in the air. I should take my time for my next update huh? Let the suspense build, when will the next update be posted? stay tuned only time will tell.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello everybody, well first offthanx to everybody that reviewed.I'm going to experiment this chapter, so bear with me. At the end of the ch. I'll try to address everyone that reviewed (or at least try). I got thisidea from another story I read, but can't remember the name. Please let me know if you like it and ifI should keep them up. Oh and I have a few pairings that I already plan to use in the story, but I haven't gotten that far, if theres a pairing you like other than the ones I've already started let me know I might be able to squeeze them in this story. Well I guess that's the news for now, as always feel free to review. Ihope you enjoy this chapter.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form but if I did this is how it would go.

**A GIFT FROM A FRIEND**

Shino and Kiba heard the yell. "Sensei!" and their curiosity was peaked to meet the person that insulted them. The voice sounded familiar and the curiosity got the best of them. They walked towards Jiraiya to see who his student could be. Jiraiya held out his fist and a fist came into their field of vision and punched his fist in greetings twice then withdrew. They saw a very familiar orange sleeve though and were even more curious.

Hinata was also about to follow even though she really wasn't that interested in finding out who it was that had said those things about her. Before she could move however Tsunade called her over. Hinata went to her to receive further instructions.

"What you doing here ero-sennin?" Naruto asked after greeting Jiraiya. Kakashi and Sakura were now standing behind him.

Before Jiraiya could answer, a commotion broke out from just inside the hokages office. Naruto looked in to see a very agitated Kiba trying to break free from Shino's grasp. "Naruto, I should have known it was you that said those things about me. Oh just you wait for me and Akamaru to get our hands on you." Naruto had no idea what he was talking about. He looked questioningly at Jiraiya, but he only shrugged.

"What are you talking about? What did I say?" Naruto asked. Meanwhile Jiraiya had engaged Kakashi in conversation and Sakura was moving next to Naruto to see what was going on.

Kiba answered in an outraged voice, but seemed to be calming down somewhat. "Describing meand my team the way you did to your teacher. What's the meaning of calling me a dog bastard! Do you have a problem with us!" Shino nodded his head in agreement also curious about Naruto's answer.

Naruto thought about what he was going to respond and it looked like he was apologetic until he opened his mouth. "I don't have a problem with you, fool. I just told him the truth. You are a bastard." Naruto said.

Kiba and Shino were stunned they couldn't believe Naruto had the balls to say that to them like that. They didn't move for a second and then Kiba tried to lunge at him, but Shino still held him. "Why you. Dammit Shino let me go. Akamaru get this bastard." When Akamaru didn't attack Naruto, Kiba turned to look at him. Sakura was petting and rubbing the large dog and Akamaru was highly enjoying the attention.

Naruto looked at them and thought it best to avoid trouble in Tsunades office so he explained himself, sort of. "Look, you think I'm wrong for how I described you, but check this out." He tapped Jiraiya on his shoulders and got his attention, "Jiraiya-sama was it easy to identify these guys with the descriptions I gave you." Jiraiya thought about it a moment and answered promptly.

"Yeah. They are just like you described them." Jiraiya responded. Kiba and Shino fell to the floor in shock.

Tsunade finished talking to Hinata and asked her for one last favor. "It appears Kakashi and his group is finally here. Could you ask Kakashi to come in by himself, I want to talk to him first before I meet his new team." Hinata nodded and turned around. She had heard the commotion, but had tuned it out so she could focus on the Hokage's words. Her heart stopped for a few skips, there he was again. Standing over the bodies of her team mates asking them if they were ok. This was not how she had pictured running into him. She felt her stomach become uneasy and her heart seemed to want to climb into her throat. She couldn't move. Oh no she thought, what am I going to do. Tsunade tapped her on her shoulder and asked "Is there a problem." Hinata turned to face Tsunade, blushing furiously and shook her head. She was about to turn back around when Naruto's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Hey, Hinata-chan. What's going on." Naruto said cheerfully, he was waving and walking over. Hinata tried to raise her hand, but it didn't want to do what her mind wanted it to do. Dammit she told herself get a hold of yourself. She took a deep breath and tried to raise her hand again. She brought it up to shoulder height and waved it once weakly. Not what she wanted, but it was a start.

"He-hello Naruto-kun." Hinat was slowly regaining control of her emotions and functioning a little bit better, but not good enough for Tsunades taste.

"Naruto, can you and Sakura wait outside while I talk with Kakashi. Hinata and her team were just leaving." Tsunade said impatiently.

Naruto looked past Hinata at Tsunade and nodded. "Sure thing baa-chan." A vein popped up on Tsunades face, that little turd she thought to herself. Naruto grabbed Hinata's still upheld hand and started pulling her toward the hall. "C'mon Hinata, we have some things we should talk about."

"Ha-ha-hai." Hinata said. Her mind was going wild. Ohmygod, omygod, omygod I can't think. He's grabbing my hand, I have to stay conscious she thought to herself as Naruto guided her outside. When he got outside he relayed the message to Kakashi. He quickly ended his conversation with Jiraiya and headed inside. Sakura had joined Kiba and Shino in conversation outside the Hokage's office.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto and then Hinata.He directed his next statement towards her. "I'll wait for you and your friends outside the building, don't take too long, we gotta lot of planning to do." Hinata nodded and turned to the young ninja in front of her. Then she looked down and saw he was still holding her hand. A chill went down her spine as he let her hand go. Her heart was pounding and she wondered what it was he could want to talk about. Was he psychic she wondered, how did he know she wanted to talk to him.

Naruto eyed Hinata intensely, making her blush. He then asked, "Sooo... what's up?"

Hinata had no idea what he was talking about. Her mind was blank, could he know that she had a present for him is that what he was waiting for. She reached into her pocket and started trying to tell him something. "A-a-ano, Naruto-kun, I-I" can't finish the sentence she thought to herself.

Naruto noticed her nervousness and thought she hadn't been able to do what she said she would do. So he interjected and tried to console her. "It's ok Hinata, I'm sure I can find another team mate for the exams." He said.

Hinata's mind finally started working. So that was what he wanted to talk about. She could handle that maybe it would even make her task easier. "Oh, it's not that I did find a team mate for you." She said.

Naruto's face lit up like a 300 watt light bulb. He jumped into the air and yelled. "Yeah, thats badass!" He landed and pumped his arm into the air two or three times. He lunged towards Hinata, looked at her intensely and asked. "So, who is it!"

Hinata was very aware of Naruto's hands on her shoulders and the thought going through her mind was, don't faint, don't faint, don't faint. "U-um, A-ano my little sister. It-it's Hanabi." Hinata replied. Naruto let go of her shoulders and started dancing around celebrating. He didn't really care who the person was he just needed to hear the name to give it to Shikamaru. Shino, Kiba, and Sakura saw Naruto's celebration and moved away from him lest anybody think that they knew who he was. (Inner Sakura was covering her head in shame, 'Oh my god, the embarrassment I go through with this idiot.')

Hinata was blushing as well, but not because she was embarrassed. She was glad he was so greatful, it made her feel good. She felt more confidence in herself and worked up the nerve to tap him on the shoulder, he was still celebrating, but stopped when he felt her touch. He looked at her curiously and asked. "What is it Hinata?"

Hinata took a deep breath and dove ahead, sort of. "I-I have something I w-would like you to-to have." She gulped and reached into her pocket. Naruto was now very quiet not knowing what to expect and very surprised by Hinata. Hinata pulled out a fist from her pocket and held it in front of her. Neither of them moved. Hinata then opened her fist. In her palm rested a thin silver necklace. The necklace was attached to a medallion the likes which Naruto had never seen. It was a five point star composed of what looked like notes, intricately wrapped together to give it the shape. The notes were bound by silver weaving through the center and binding it together. There also seemed to be silver twine around the base of the points, which were all tied in intricate and delicate knots barely visible to the eyes.

Naruto's face was glowing with wonder. "Where did you get it Hinata?" Naruto asked, trying to follow the intricate designs of the notes folds. It was like an optical illusion with many creases and folds that seemed to fool the eyes.

Hinata's attention was on Naruto's face, never had she seen any body's face light up with wonder like that and much less for something she made. "I made it myself." She said witha hint of pride. She then bit her lower lip holding that pose while she awaited Naruto's answer and tried her hardest not to stare.

Naruto still had his eyes on the trinket. "Really, that's amazing Hinata, I..." At that moment he looked up and saw the look on Hinata's face, he saw pride and a sincere desire for him to have the gift. Naruto, was about to tell her that he couldn't accept her gift, but when he saw her face the way she was biting her lip he knew it would be stupid not to accept it. "Arigatou, Hinata-chan." He said, he then bowed his head to her.

This was more than what Hinata had hoped for. Naruto, had not only thanked her but his obvious appreciation of her craftmanship really touched her in a way she couldn't really describe. Her confidence seemed to grow and a feeling of warmth spread to her chest. All these emotions were in the way of her thoughts to her mouth. "Hai, umm, ano demo, I mean you're welcome." Naruto still did not look up, she had no idea why he was bowing to her in that manner. Did she do something wrong, oh no she thought, I messed up. Her confidence started shrinking again and she looked around for some clue. A ways away from them Sakura had heard the whole conversation and was making gestures for her to put the necklace on Naruto, Shino and Kiba had their backs turned to her and were looking at Sakura like she was a maniac. The realization of what Naruto was waiting for hit her like a ton of bricks and a wave of relief washed over her. She held the necklace with both hands and placed it over Narutos head and around his neck.

Naruto looked up and smiled, Hinata was so entranced she didn't realize her fingers were still on Naruto's chest. As she was pulling them away Naruto grabbed her hand, "Hinata, this is the third time you've done something nice for me." Naruto said sincerely, "You have my word, I will repay your kindness one day." Naruto reached into his pocket with his free hand, "Open your hand." Naruto asked her, she did so promply. Naruto pulled out a bell. The same bell he had earned in the exam earlier that day. "This bell means something to me and one day I want it back. I'm giving it to you. Don't give it back to me until I repay my debt." He said. He then dropped the bell into her hand and closed her hand around it. "Don't worry Hinata I'll keep my word 'cuz thats my way of the ninja, remember that." At that moment the Hokages doors opened and Kakashi beckoned them in. Naruto let go of Hinata's hand and walked in waving to her and telling her. "Take care. Bye."

Shino and Kiba were about too leave. Before they left they notice Hinata hadn't moved. Kiba looked back to see his team mate still standing in front of the hokages office with her fist held in front of her. Shino raised his eyebrow out of curiosity and walked towards her. He called out her name, but she didn't reply. Kiba was now following him, when they reached her she had still not moved. Shino snapped his fingers in front of her a couple of times to snap her out of it, but got no reaction. "What do you think could be wrong?" Kiba asked as he poked her in the cheek.

Shino thought about it and came to his conclusion. "I guess she froze. She used to pass out when Naruto was around her before maybe something like that happened." Shino moved to catch Hinata because Kiba had pushed her and she fell over,stiff as a board. By this time Jiraiya had come back inside.

"What's taking you guys so long?" Shino and Kiba explained the situation and Jiraiya looked at Hinata. "I see so neither of you are sure of the cause." They both shook their heads not wanting to give this guy to much information about their friend. "Ok, this shouldn't take long." Jiraiya said and set to working on Hinata.

Out in the village of sand in the Kazekage's building Kankarou lay in a bed with Hirai sitting by his side. When they had arrived at the entrance of the village Kankarou was barely conscious and had started coughing up blood. Hirai had brought him here where everyone set about trying to see what was wrong with him and make him comfortable. He had lost consciousness as they entered the Kazekages building. Hirai sat next to him uncomfortably, she felt helpless and that really frustrated her. Her chest hitched a few times and she silently whispered to Kankarou. "Why don't you wake up dammit." She got up to leave and had only taken to steps when Kankarou started coughing. Hirai quickly rushed back to his side. She grabbed his hand and leaned close to him once he stopped coughing. "Are you ok Kanakarou?" She asked in a gentle voice. Kankarou's eyes focused and searched her out. He weakly nodded his head and waited until his breathing became normal again.

Once he felt secure he wouldn't hurt himself by speaking he started to do so in a low voice. "The trip back took a lot out of me and accelerated the poison for a brief while." Hirai's eyes widened at the news Kankarou just gave her.

"What are you talking about Kankarou? What poison? Who poisoned you?" Hirai asked anxious to hear the answers.

Kankarou thought about how to answer the questions in the most cost effective manner. "It's a dangerous poison that corrodes the veins through which the blood travels. It mingles with the blood to eat through the veins. It accelerated on the way here because the effort I made pushed the blood faster. It should be back to a stable speed now, however I don't know how long I have left." Kankarou closed his eyes for a few moments then reopened them and continued. "As to who did this you should ask the elders about a man named Sasori. He is the one responsible for my state and assisted in Gaara's kidnapping." When he finished his face took on a reflective quality as he thought out the situation.

Hirai did not know the elders and her curiosity had been grabbed by the last portion of Gaara's statement. "What will we do about Gaara?" She asked nervously.

Kankarou eyed her intensely deciding what to tell her. After a while he decided that the truth was the best way to go. He looked at her and opened his mouth to commence his explanation.

**PREVIEW**

Hirai and Kankarou have a discussion, find out what it's about? What will Temari do about the news she received? What is team 8's mission and what will happen to Naruto? (Damn that's alot of stuff, I hope I can cram it all into the next chapter.)

**REVIEW SHOUT OUTS**

crakbaby- Sorry bout the long wait, hope you enjoyed this Ch.

theboondocks- Thanx for pointing out my mistakes, if I weren't so lazy I would go back and fix them. (I might do it if enough ppl bug me about it.) I liked giving her nosebleeds too, I got a review that didn't like them so I haven't used them lately, but I might try to fit one in once in a while.

acrazygirl of many names- I'll continue, just because you asked nicely. J/K thanx for all the reviews.

FFz- Thanx, I thought it was funny too. Where were you before I finished this chapter, that was a good idea you put up. I will bring Rock Lee into the picture, unfortunately it may be a while. Sorry.

Danny- Sorry I don't try to do to many cliffhangers, thats just the way the cookie crumbles I guess. Oh we see Kankarou in this Ch. hopefully he'll be ok. Oh man that's the most nerve wracking part because I don't know if anybody will like it. Hopefully its good though. All the time.

Narutorules- Yes he does. lol get it, your name that is. Nevermind, sorry, the dorky side prevailed for a moment. Thanx though, and I hope you like this ch.

Dragonman 180- Oh that's a good idea, I might use that. Maybe not exactly like you said, but the idea is definetely cool.


	13. Chapter 13

Hello, everybody well first thanx for reviewing and here's the next Ch. I hope everybody enjoys it and I'm sorry I can't type faster, lol, I try though. Anyways pls. review and let me know what you think.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**EXPLANATIONS**

Kankarou began his narrative of the events that had happened with these words. "Remember what I tell you because if when help arrives I am unable to tell them the situation, that duty falls to you." Hirai nodded her head. Her whole undivided attention hung on Kankarou's every word. "Before the attack happened we had received information about a group interested in kidnapping Gaara."

Hirai blurted out, "Who, why?" as soon as the words were out of her mouth she slapped her hands over her mouth.

Kankarou simply stared at her. His look telling her to shut up. He then continued. "Your questions will hopefully all be answered so just listen." He picked up where he left off. "This group is comprised of powerful renegade ninjas. Class S missing nins for that matter. They seek to attain the being that dwells within Gaara." Kankarou saw confusion enter Hirai's face, he thought he should give her a simple explanation . "You have not lived in this village or known Gaara for long and there is much you do not know. Don't worry it'll be revealed to you later." Feeling this was good enough he pushed on even though curiosity was still clearly written on her face. "They were successful in getting Gaara, when Temari gets back update her on all the events and hope that they can be successful." He finished and lay his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. Hirai thought he passed out again and made to check his breathing when he opened his eyes. "Have the siblings been contacted?" He asked. Hirai shook her head, only the medical team had been here to check on him. That and she didn't know who the siblings were. Baki entered at that moment having been notified by the guards posted outside of the room.

He walked neared them and explained his presence. "The guards told me they heard voices and I came to see what was going on. I am glad you are better Kankarou. Is there anything I can do?" Baki asked.

Kankarou looked at Baki not really sure if he should trust his kindness, but seeing no other option spoke. "I've been poisoned, I need to speak with the siblings." Kankarou said as clearly as he could.

Baki asked no questions. He simply nodded his head and walked out of the room to perform the task Kankarou had given him.

After Baki left Kankarou let out a sigh. Hirai turned towards him and asked, "What's wrong Kankarou, is it the poison?" A look of worry starting to show on her face.

Kankarou opened his eyes, but did not look at Hirai. He spoke, more to himself than specifically to her. "I may be wrong in not trusting Baki or anyone else for that matter. I just can't bring myself to change the way Gaara did." He then closed his eyes and appeared to go to sleep.

Hirai noticed his chest rising and falling steadily so she knew there was no danger. She asked herself out loud. "How did Gaara change, I can't see him being different then how he is. He's so strong, I still can't believe he was beat."

Kankarou answered not having really noticed that she wasn't really asking him. "Foolish girl." Hirai jumped at his words she had thought that he was really asleep. "You should be thankful you never met Gaara before he changed, if you had you would be dead." The conviction in his words sent chills down her spine and she shivered. She believed his words, only artificially though. In her mind she was incapable of seeing Gaara as a killer. Kankarou took no notice of her reaction and kept speaking. "Whoever kidnapped him did not beat him outright they schemed to take advantage of his new nature. They would have never beaten the old Gaara he would have let us all die and then killed his enemy." Hirai found this even harder to believe. That Gaara would be capable of allowing that to happen to everybody was almost verging on blasphemy. " The only reason he really changed was because of the only person that was able to beat him outright." Kankarou let out a deep breath. "I am glad Gaara changed." Kankarou clenched his fist and grimaced, "Damn you Gaara why did you let yourself get beaten." He said bitterly. Hirai sat there stunned all she could do was absorb the information that Kankarou had revealed.

Hinata and her team were making their way out of the Hokages office. Hinata was very distracted. Jiraiya had revived her by sending a burst of chakra into her. That wasn't really what had her worried though, she hadn't heard all of what Naruto had to say. The last thing she remembered him saying was not to worry, and that was exactly what she was doing. What if he had said something important, what if he had asked her a favor. A crazy thought passed through her mind making her blush crimson, what if he had confessed he liked her and she had missed it. Nooo! She was furious at herself for freezing like that. That was one of the reasons Kiba and Shino didn't bother her or let Jiraiya talk to her, they saw the shade of her eyes and knew it was best to let her calm herself down. She went over the days events again to try and see if she could remember something that maybe she didn't notice at the time. She had calmed down while she went over the days events. She remembered how she had been insulted by Jiraiya's student and the commotion that Kiba had caused outside and wondered if those events held any relevance. "Jiraiya-sama, demo, I just wanted to ask you something." Jiraiya didn't stop walking, he just looked at her with a questioning look waiting for her question. "Who was your student?"

Jiraiya chuckled at the question. "I guess you didn't meet-" before he could finish there was another outburst from Kiba.

"I'll tell you who it was! It was that BASTARD N-'' WHAM! Jiraiya punched Kiba on the top of his head sending him straight to the ground unconscious. They stopped now.

Shino bent over Kiba and said. "You must be very strong to knock Kiba out consistently like that with such ease. Kiba is a very tough opponent. Can you revive him." Akamaru was now also now nudging Kiba as well trying to wake him up, when Kiba didn't move Akamaru whimpered and looked at Jiraiya with disapproval.

Jiraiya looked at Akamaru and said. "Don't look at me like that, he deserved it for being so rude and interrupting me. Sorry, but I can't revive him, he's just unconscious lift him onto Akamaru and... huh what is it?" Jiraiya had just noticed Hinata trying to get his attention. He turned to her while Shino took care of Kiba.

Hinata looked at Jiraiya getting a little annoyed and asked her question again. "You never answered, who was your student."

Jiraiya thought about it, "I guess you're right, demo. His name is Naruto." Jiraiya saw the stunned look on Hinata's face and waved his hand in front of her to make sure she hadn't frozen again. She reacted though so he let out a sigh of relief. "He was right about you too. You have cool eyes, but you sure are weird."

Hinata gasped and stood there for a few moments dumbstruck by what Jiraiya had said. Jiraiya moved on and accompanied Shino and Akamaru who was now carrying Kiba. The rejection gong was once again standing next to her, but it didn't sound this time. She touched her cheek and realized that even though Naruto thought she was weird, he had noticed her eyes. Could it be that he really thought they were cool, she wondered. The gong disappeared and her spirits were lifted with this thought. A small smile touched her lips. She then proceeded to follow her team.

Meanwhile in the streets of Konoha two figures moved through the village in a hurry towards the hokage's building. Temari was in the lead. Every step she took the reality of the situation sank in further. It had felt surreal at first when she read the note, but all the implications this event would have affected everyone. Her first reaction was to run back to the sand. Luckily reason prevailed, the sand did not contact her to have her run all the way back alone. Even though she noticed Shikamaru following her she knew she needed to ask Konoha's hokage for help. That was what would be best for the sand. Upon completing this thought she turned around and headed to the Hokages building with Shikamaru following her. Her urgency was starting to eat at her and she knew making the request would not be easy. Shikamaru on the other hand still had no idea what was going on, she had not spoken to him since right after reading the note nor had he been able to read anything to get an idea of what was going on. The Hokage's building appeared in their field of vision and Temari picked up her pace. Shikamaru tried to match her speed, however he was not having an easy time of doing that. They reached the door shortly and were stopped by the guards at the entrance. Shikamaru stated their business and were about to be let in when the doors opened up from the inside. Temari did not hesitate she walked through the doors at a brisk pace and bumped into Jiraiya.

Jiraiya looked down at the young female ninja and smiled, "You should pay more attention to where you're going." He said in a friendly tone. She didn't respond only let out a hmmph and moved past them. Shikamaru walked up behind her and apologized to Jiraiya. He waved off the apology. "She's young, it's understandable don't worry about it." Shikamaru started to move on.

Hinata noticed Shikamaru and her mind flashed to her encounter with Naruto. She decided to tell Shikamaru about Hanabi. Just in case Naruto had asked her that favor she would at least have all the bases covered she hoped. "Umm, Shikamaru." Shikamaru looked at her and asked what was on her mind. Hinata told him what was on her mind. "Naruto is registering for the Chuunin exams. I just wanted to tell you that my sister Hanabi will be a part of his team." Hinata tried to remember if that was all. She had the feeling she was forgetting something, but could not figure out what it was so she just told him. "That's all, please be sure to mark that down."

Shikamaru made a mental note of what she had said and thanked her. "Arigatou Hinata I'll make sure to mark it down as soon as I get the chance." He then turned and headed to the Hokages office. When he reached the door however the guards posted there would not allow him entry. "This is so bothersome, then again do I really want to be in there. I might become involved in an even more troublesome situation." Shikamaru thought about this for a few minutes and even though he knew he could talk his way into the office he thought he would be better off waiting outside. He then walked across the hall and leaned on the wall and waited for things to unfold in the hokages office. Not even a minute had passed when from further down the hall a person came running down to the Hokage's office. With a frantic look on his face.

He stopped in front of the office panting from the effort to get there. "I have to see the Hokage its an emergency." He said. The guards opened the door and let their comrade in. Shikamaru's curiosity rose unfortunately he could not decide what he should do. The decision was taken out of his hands as the doors were again closed.

Naruto had entered the hokages office and noted the destroyed desk and Tsunade sitting behind the rubble mumbling to himself. He fet a twinge of fear remembering her temper. He thought about his health and thought it better not to tempt her to kill him. "Hey Tsunade-sama." Naruto greeted. Sakura and Kakashi were both mildly surprised and noted Naruto's behavior. Tsunade also noted this and raised an eyebrow at him.

She greeted them as well, "Hello Naruto, Sakura. I'm glad you two are doing well." She looked at the group and smiled warmly. "It is real nice to see you three together again." Naruto and Sakura returned the smile Sakura blushed a little as well. "So even though I would like to exchange pleasantries, we would be better off taking care of business and catching up later." She leaned forward and down to look in one of her desks drawers. "Hold on, I gotta find the paperwork real quick."

Naruto had his hands behind his head and a snot bubble on his nose while he waited, he was looking up at the ceiling with his eyes closed when his mouth opened without him really being aware of it. "Baa-chan really is getting old, loosing important papers and stuff." As soon as he realized what he said he unclasped his hands and lowered his head to see Tsunade, but it was to late. WHAM! The last thing Naruto saw were bright lights and veins.

Tsunade had reacted with anger before thinking about what she was doing so she didn't really control her power. Poor Naruto, he had slammed into the wall next to the door and slid to the floor. Sakura and Kakashi had both seen the frightening speed she displayed and knew it was not wise to annoy her today. "BAKA! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that!" She yelled while shaking her fist at him. A vein pulsating on her forehead. She turned around and addressed Kakashi and Sakura, "Sorry about that." She cleared her throat and went back to continue her search. Sakura and Kakashi both sweat dropped. "He should be ok, now as I was saying...aahhh-hah here they are. These are the missions we have available." She tossed the folder at Kakashi so that he could look over his options. He caught it deftly and opened it up promptly.

Naruto came to after a few seconds with a pounding headache. He slowly got up and was about to walk towards his team when he heard some noises outside. He dismissed it though and made his way back to his friends. He started looking at the missions over Kakashis shoulder and his anger started to rise as he saw how stupid the missions were. He was about to voice his opinion (and probably get knocked out again when the doors opened up behind him and in came Temari. She quickly crossed the room and stood before the hokage. Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura just watched their curiosity growing by the second. Naruto had completely forgotten his complaints as Temari came in she wore a very determined expression. She quickly bowed her head to Tsunade and began speaking. "Hokage-sama. News has just reached me that our own Kazekage has just been kidnapped." Everyone's eyes opened in shock. "At the moment I do not know who the culprit is or have much information. What I do know is that the village of sand needs your help." Temari finished speaking and waited anxiously for Tsunades reply.

Tsunade thought about the news she had just been given. She had an idea of who was behind the kidnapping and the person who was best suited to handle this mission had just walked out the door a few minutes ago. Dammit she thought to herself why is Jiraiya always such a pain in the ass. Even though she believed Temari she had to verify the information. "I understand that you are the sand's representative and that we are allies. So with that in mind I ask that you tell me how you got this information and if you have any proof of these events we have not received any official word." Tsunade saw the anger rising on Temari's face. "You have to understand that even though we are allies we have to make sure to do what is wisest for our villages and to that end trust has to be built, however that trust is still fragile because of past events so we need something to verify your information." Tsunade said. Tsunade had stated all these things in a way that even Naruto understood.

Temari hadn't really expected this, for some reason she had hoped they would just trust her and send aid. She brought out the note she had and handed it over hoping it would be enough to convince Tsunade. Tension was starting to build in the room as Tsunade reached out to take the note Temari was holding.

**PREVIEW **

Temari has finally gotten to the Hokage to ask for help, but how will she react and will she send our hero to the rescue? What is going to happen with team 8? Who are the sibling's Kankarou asked for? Keep reading to find out.

**RSO** (that's review shout outs for those that don't know, it saves some time so here goes)

Acrazygirlofmanynames- I am real glad you enjoyed the ch. and hope your mom didn't yell, hope you enjoy this ch. as well.

dragonman180- Damn you are perceptive, yeah he does have two necklaces now. I'm glad you like the bell and hope you aren't dissappointed in how she was revived. Thanx for reviewing.

FFz- I'm glad you like the interaction between the characters. I really appreciate the comments. Rock Lee will be making his appearance soon I'm sorry it's taken so long, but hopefully it will be worth the wait.

crakbaby23- I'm glad you liked it, poor Kiba. The truth must hurt lol j/k.

danny171984- You are also perceptive. Yes I said the chuunin exams are coming up, but I never put in a time frame of when they were happening so there will be time, I have alot of ideas I want to work into the exam so I will definetely make that work out somehow. Also they might be getting there sooner than expected. Hope you enjoy this ch.

thedragon987- I am glad you enjoyed the sitdowns. Hopefully you will enjoy where I take it next, to infinity and beyond. J/K. there is alot of stuff that I have on my mind and hopefully everybody will enjoy the journey into my immagination.

warprince2000- Oh this one's easy, update is up now. lol how is that for soon. J/K.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey, everybody. Well thanx to those that reviewed and to those that didn't what are you waiting for let me know what you think. Ok, well here is ch. 14 I hope everybody enjoys it, feel free to review when your done.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**DETAILING THE MISSION**

Tsunade took the note from Temari and held it in front of her looking at Temari and contemplating the situation. She looked at the note and hoped it would be enough to warrant action on their part. It was hard for her being the hokage to make these types of decisions. She knew they were in need and that it was in essence her duty to help them as allies, but she still needed evidence to justify her decisions. She opened the note and read it. Temari stood there with the tension building and waited nervously as the Hokage read the letter. She understood the situation and knew she might have to leave by herself, but she hoped that the letter was enough to sway her decision.

Tsunade was really moved by the urgency she saw in the handwriting, it had been done aggressively and in a hurry. What made the decision even more difficult is that whoever had sent the note was in to much of a hurry to provide the information necessary to her. She finished reading the note and put it in her lap. She lay her hands over the note and took a deep breath before she spoke. "Do you have anything else to show me?" Tsunade asked in the hopes the answer would be in the affirmative.

This was what Temari had feared and expected. She shook her head slowly. Behind her Naruto burst in unable to stand the scene unfolding in front of him. He now stood next to Temari glaring at the Hokage. He loudly spoke to her barely keeping himself from yelling. "Tsunade-sama, why are you treating an ally like that she needs help and we're here. Send us! We are willing to go!" Naruto pleaded. Kakashi and Sakura were stunned, they did not expect Naruto's outburst. Neither did Temari, but she was grateful for his offer. She wanted to speak, but for the first time in a very long time her emotions would not let her. Naruto went on without heeding his brain. "You can't just let this situation continue. That would be an unworthy decision of a Hokage. What kind of leader abandons their allies." Naruto stopped sensing the atmosphere in the room had changed. There was an aura of shock and anger in equal measure. The shock came from Kakashi, Sakura, and Temari. The anger came solely from the Hokage. The anger seemed to be oozing out of her.

She didn't lift her head and her words fell from her lips like cubes of ice. Cold and without any emotions, Naruto had never seen her like this. "Never speak to me that way again. Don't assume to know what a hokage does or why she does it. You are still only a gennin." Naruto stood frozen to the spot. Anger and fear colliding and fighting to surge to the surface. Tsunade finally looked up daring Naruto to say anything. She was about to open her mouth when her doors opened and in came a short guy holding a letter in his hand. He ran to the Hokage and handed the letter to her.

He was gasping for air and when he finally had control of them he said to her. "It is an emergency message from the village of sand.. Hokage-sama." She nodded in recognition and he bowed and backed out of the room.

With everyones eyes on her she opened the envelope and took out the letter. She read it carefully and this is what it said.

Letter to the Hokage of Honoka,

We request immediate assistance, the Kazekage has been kidnapped by unknown captors. A tracking party has gone after them and will hopefully return with the Kazekage's whereabouts. Our situation is dire and we ask assistance as allies.

Your allies

The council of sand

Beneath the writing was the official emblem of the sand. Tsunade smiled inwardly, this was what she needed to see. "Naruto, please step out of the room." She asked politely.

Naruto could not believe his ears there was an emergency happening in the sand and they were trying to keep the information from him. He wasn't about to stand for it. "Nani! Why should I have to step outside, but everybody else stands here." Thinking she wanted him out because of his previous comments he kept running his mouth. "Can't you take a joke. I'm sorry I was just playing!"

Temari whose hopes had lifted when she had seen the hokage receive the letter could no longer take it. She erupted immediately. "Baka! Why can't you just do as your told, baka. The longer you argue the worse Gaaras chances of survival become." Even though she was grateful for everything Naruto had done over time right now he was being an idiot. "Baka, just get out!" She was now yelling at the top of her lungs and looked like she was going to continue if he didn't start moving. Fortunately Naruto had been shocked by her outburst into moving. What had hit him about what she said was about him wasting time with arguing. He realized that he was wrong in doing so and felt shameful by his actions. Kakashi and Sakura were stunned by Temari's outburst. Sakura was about to say something when she saw Tsunade raise her hand to stop her. Sakura stayed quiet, the room was deadly silent as Naruto made his way out of the room, he was walking out looking at his feet.

Naruto stepped out into the hallway not really noticing his surroundings. He was lost in thought, he had a hard time dealing with the fact that his arguing could lead to them not getting there in time. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the closed door and slid to the ground. When he was all the way down to the ground his legs pressed his arms a little harder against his chest and he felt an unfamiliar lump there. He was used to Tsunade's gift, but the pressure reminded him of Hinata's gift as well. He reached into his collar and pulled it out to look at it. Once again he was impressed by its craftsmanship and slowly started forgetting his bad feelings as wonder once again started taking over his minds. He was so focused on his new necklace that when that familiar lazy drawl broke into his consciousness he jumped up all the way to his feet out of shock. "What are you doing out here Naruto."

Shikamaru idly asked. He had noticed what Naruto had been looking at and was thinking about it, but thought his presence here deserved more attention. Besides Shikamaru had a real good idea about how Naruto came by the necklace.

"Nani!" Naruto exclaimed, he then tried to catch his breath and between gasps he asked, "Are you trying to kill me, whats wrong with you." He calmed down and finished catching his breath while waiting for Shikamarus answer.

"I really shouldn't answer your question because you haven't answered mine. However I'm in a good mood. Just so you know I wasn't trying to kill you, I've been standing right in front of you this whole time. I was waiting for some sort of greeting. Oh and since your so concerned I'm doing fine theres nothing wrong with me. Thank you for asking." Shikamaru said sarcastically. "Now it's your turn to answer my question." Shikamaru stuck both his hands in his pockets and waited for a reply.

Naruto thought Shikamaru was being a smartass, he couldn't really say why, but he just thought he was. So he didn't feel like answering. "That's none of your business. It's top secret information." Naruto puffed up giving himself an air of importance. An air Shikamaru had no qualms about deflating.

Shikamaru sighed, he wanted to know what was happening in the office and this idiot didn't want to tell him. At least he could have fun with him Shikamaru thought to himself. "Let me guess then. You said something stupid and pissed the Hokage off." Naruto started coming back down to earth. "Then when they asked you to shut up you refused and wasted their time." Naruto looked shocked. "They saw you would delay the meeting so you were told to step outside while they discussed the mission." Naruto was starting to shrink now. How did this bastard know all that. "Oh, and I know because I can see it all in your body language and the way you acted just now sliding down the door like that. Somebody who had important information wouldn't look so down. Damn Naruto, you really haven't changed." Naruto now felt about the size of an ant. In Narutos mind a giant gong suddenly appeared standing next to him and Naruto looked at it with curiosity. It was about twice as big as he was and just standing there Naruto moved closer to it when all of a sudden it was struck. GGGGOOOONNNNGGG! Naruto was shaking and shrank back. The rejection gong strikes again. "You're just as clueless as I am and you were in there this whole time." The gong was about to strike again when Naruto leaped in front of the gong and caught the hammer, he then grabbed the handle and proceeded to demolish the gong.

After the gong was completely destroyed Naruto turned to Shikamaru and interrupted him before he could go on. "Haa! You're wrong, I'm not clueless." Shikamaru raised his eyebrow in a questioning gesture prompting Naruto to go on. "The Kazekage is in danger and they need help immediately." Naruto said proudly.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder how you can be so dense. Of course the Kazekage's in danger anybody who knows anything could have put that together without being in the office. What happened to the Kazekage and what are we going to do? Do you have any clue about that?" Shikamaru asked he crossed his arms as he waited to see what Naruto would say.

Naruto had no answer. He looked around him and yelled in disbelief as he once again saw the rejection gong standing next to him again like new. He could have sworn he had destroyed it. He saw the hammer coming and once again jumped in front of it in order to stop it, but it was to strong this time it struck him and hit the gong with him instead. Naruto slammed into the gong and fell on his knees his head ringing. Naruto thought to himself, what the hell is this thing.

Meanwhile inside the Hokage's office the mood was very somber. Tsunade was explaining the situation. "This is some recent information I was made aware of that might be of interest or need with this mission. I believe that the Kazekages kidnappers were a part of a criminal organization named Akatsuki." Tsunade explained.

Temari could not believe her ears. "How can you know this and why weren't we made aware of this?" Temari blurted out.

Tsunade eyed her and decided to answer her question in earnest. "Like I said this information was only recently made available to me. However my informant also told me he provided your village with information regarding them as well right before he came here. It is possible this information did not make it to your village until after you left. I am not sure what the case is only he does." She stopped and thought of how to continue, she did so tentatively. "I am sure you know Gaara is unique in that he possesses inhuman power that is not completely his. This... group is... after that power source. We know this because there is somebody in our village that shares your Kazekage's... predicament. That person just stepped out of the room." Temari was shocked, so many things fell into place with this bit of information. She wondered if Gaara knew this already, it took her a minute for this revelation to finally sink in. Kakashi already knew this, but Sakura was also taken aback by this information as well. She had an idea about Naruto, but even this information begged more questions in her mind. She wanted to ask, but knew this was not the appropriate time. Tsunade waited for the information to sink in before she continued. "We have already encountered this group and through many actions taken by our village we were able to prevent his kidnapping." She made eye contact with Kakashi to confirm that he knew what she was talking about. "This group is comprised of class S missing ninjas from different villages. The informant who gave me this information only gave me a rudimentary idea, but what we do know is this. Within their ranks is one from the sand, I don't know if you know him or of him. His name is Sasori." Temari racked her brain, the name sounded so familiar. She had heard of him of course, but at the moment she couldn't recall much about him. Tsunade asked "Is there any information you have on this individual that might help us out?" Temari shook her head. Tsunade let out a deep breath disappointed and continued. The person I would like to send isn't here, but I trust Kakashi will do a good job as well with his group. He has had experience with this group. I am in a difficult position because in sending Kakashi and his group I risk loosing Naruto to this group and the consequences of that loss are unimaginable. I have no choice here though because they are the only available group, however once another group reports in I will send them as well to give you more support." She looked at Kakashi and then at Temari. "Is this suitible?" she asked. They both nodded, Tsunade then looked at Kakashi and asked, "It is more than likely you may run into Itachi. Are you confident you can handle this mission?" Kakashi thought this over a moment, Itachi was a powerful adversary and his comrades could be even more powerful. He was not really confident, but knew this was the hokages way of letting him bow out because of Naruto. Naruto would not forgive him if he backed down though. He slowly nodded his head in confirmation and met the hokage's eyes letting her know he was ready for the mission. "Then it's settled. Temari please step outside and tell Naruto to come back in, I will give them a few more instructions and then they will meet you at the south entrance to Konoha. You can all proceed to the village of sand and share any pertinent information." Tsunade said. She then put her head in her hands looking to be in deep thought as Temari did as she was asked and stepped outside.

An unexpected sight greeted her when she closed the door, Naruto's back. She reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. Naruto had been thinking of a way to put Shikamaru down in a smart way when someone put their hand on his shoulder. He let out a short yell and jumped a little bit. He turned around quickly and was face to face with Temari. "Are you trying to kill me too?" Naruto asked catching his breath. It was pissing him off that everybody was catching him off guard today.

Temari having no idea what he was talking about replied simply. "No, I just wanted to tell you, your presence is asking you to go inside." Naruto looked at her to make sure she wasn't joking and when he saw she wasn't he nodded and started walking past her. Before he could open the door though Temari addressed him one more time. "Naruto." Naruto stopped when he heard his name. "I'm sorry about yelling at you, it was uncalled for. My emotions got the better of me." Temari said. She was about to walk away when Naruto's words stopped her.

Naruto was still standing in front of the door, "You don't need to apologize to me Temari. You were right I was stupid for arguing. Don't worry we won't let anything happen to Gaara." With that he opened the door and disappeared through it. She stood there for a moment not knowing what to think of Naruto's words to her and then began to keep walking away.

She didn't get far when all of a sudden her body stopped responding to her and took on a relaxed posture. She was surprised that she hadn't noticed Shikamaru and relaxed, she knew it was useless to struggle so she just waited to see what it was that he wanted. "How troublesome, you. You weren't even going to say good-bye." Shikamaru said. "You could at least tell me what's going on." He released his shadow jutsu and started walking towards her. She didn't notice this.

Unlike Naruto she was quick enough to respond to his taunting. "Maybe if you weren't so lazy you would have stood out and I would have seen you. I don't make a habit of bidding farewell to scenery. I won't tell you anything. If the Hokage won't tell you anything then it is not my place to divulge the information." She said.

Shikamaru had to admit she was a difficult person to get information out of, but that was part of her appeal, she was extremely smart. Almost as smart as me he thought to himself, how troublesome. "So it's a very dangerous mission?" He asked.

She thought this question was answerable, after all very was a very objective word. She lowered her head a little bit and answered. "Hai, you could say that." What happened next really threw her off. Shikamaru's arms went past her and wrapped themselves around her neck and chest. The next thing she knew she was in Shikamaru's embrace.

Shikamaru didn't really know what drove him, but he felt a need to comfort her and himself. He held her tight and whispered in her ear. "You take care of yourself. It would trouble me to no end if something happened to you." He usually didn't let his emotions guide him, but in the pit of his stomach he knew if he didn't see her again he had to let her know he was worried about her. He then let her go.

Temari did not turn around, she did not want Shikamaru to see the tears in her eyes. His gesture had really touched her and she would not forget it. She took two steps away from him and stopped without turning around she addressed him. "Thank you Shikamaru, I will be careful." With that said she ran away from him and out of the building to head to the village entrance. Tears of frustration and relief streaming from her eyes.

**PREVIEW**

Will our heroes go out to save the day or will the hokage choose to keep Naruto in Konoha? What about Temari will her emotions get in the way of her mission? You have to keep reading if you want to find out.

**RSOs**

a crazy girl of many names- I'm glad you didn't get yelled at. Don't worry I'll keep writing until I finish this arc at least. So what did you think of this ch.

dragonman 180- They're almost there. I hope you like Naruto's experience with the Gong? Makes you wonder if the necklace is the only thing Hinata gave him, huh?

Danny171984- As always thanx for reviewing. Hmm, sorry I didn't reveal everything in this ch. but I want to play out the suspense a little bit, don't worry though you'll find out what's going to happen real soon. I hope you like the Shika/Temi moment in this ch. Hopefully I'm giving them a deeper personality and depth to the relationships. Let me know what you think.

snakeeye12- Thanx for reviewing, sorry to hear about your lack of internet for a while. I'm glad to read your reviews. They are really motivational or to use your words great. Tony the tiger great, well hope you enjoy this ch. and feel free to review.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey everybody, sorry this update took so long. I won't make excuses I partied to hard this weekend and didn't get around to writing like I should have. Well, anyways I hope everybody enjoys. Feel free to review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**SETTING OUT**

When Temari stepped out of the room Tsunade turned to Kakashi and Sakura and glared at them. "Don't give Naruto more information than he needs to know. I don't want the situation to get worse than it already is." Tsunade said in a low and fierce voice. Kakashi and Sakura both sweat dropped and nodded their affirmatives. Tsunade had received a lot of information earlier from Jiraiya and she worried about what could happen with Naruto. She just hoped that not telling him everything would maybe minimize complications. At that moment the door creaked open and Naruto stepped in. He walked to his team mates and stood next to them. He was unusually somber Tsuanade noted, maybe she had underestimated him. It was to late now there was really no choice. She looked from person to person before she spoke. Naruto said nothing, only stood there awaiting the hokages instructions. Tsunade began to speak. "So we all now know the situation. These will be your assignments. Sakura you will be the medical ninja of the team Kakashi will be the leader and you Naruto will support in any way possible. I'm sorry that I have to send you out so quickly on such a mission, but I trust that you all will be able to handle it." She looked at them to see if they would bring up anything. When she deemed they would not she bid them good luck. "Naruto, I'm sure you will know more about this mission then your teammates, but please do not make this personal. Remember you are on a mission for our village." Naruto didn't know what she meant yet, but committed her words to memory and nodded his head. He bid the Hokage farewell and left along with his team. Upon their departure Tsunade put her head in her hands and thought about what she did, it weighed on her heart to put Naruto in that position, but she knew he could handle it and if he didn't he would be glad because at least he had been given a shot. She sighed and looked around at her office, damn that brat she thought, making her work so hard.

Outside of the office Kakashi looked at his two new team mates and he asked them. "Are you two ready for the mission? If you have everything you think you'll need then go ahead and meet at the entrance I have a few things I have to get . I'll meet you at the entrance as soon as I can." He didn't wait for them to respond, but dashed off quickly to get his things as quickly as possible. Leaving Naruto and Sakura alone.

Sakura looked at Naruto and conceded that he had matured greatly, looking at him at that moment he seemed so grown up without his smile. "Naruto, I have to go pick up some medical tools. Do you want to accompany me." She expected a quick affirmative, instead her observation about his maturity was only re-enforced.

Naruto thought about her question and his first thought was that he wanted to go. Upon a little further thought though he decided against it. "I'm sorry Sakura I wish I could, but I might slow you down in looking for what you need or trying to talk. I think we'll have time to do that later on." He paused thinking of how to articulate his thoughts and then continued. "It would be most beneficial for the mission if I went and waited for you two. I'm already prepared so we should get this mission going." Sakura was a little surprised by Naruto's tone, he really has matured she thought.

In the past she had noted his determined look, but seeing him now it seemed to her that that look with which she was familiar had become more focused. "Ok, I'll see you at the bridge in a little while then." she said and bounded off. Naruto also dashed away to get to his destination as soon as possible.

Jiraiya was waiting in the training field for his last team member to show up. After they had left Tsunade's office he had told his new team to get ready for the mission. He had warned them to pack up well because there was no certainty on when they were coming back. Now in retrospect he regretted having picked those words because Hinata hadn't shown up yet and he thought she would never show up. He knew the importance of teamwork so he decided to start while they waited for her. He looked at his new team mates and began speaking. "I know the way we met wasn't under the best of circumstances, but we are going to be team mates so we should strive to get along and communication will be an integral part of that." Shino seemed to be paying attention and Kiba looked like the only thing he was paying attention to was the jerky in his mouth. A vain popped up on Jiraiyas head and a thought crossed his mind. Don't get mad Jiraiya there's no way this guy can be worse than Naruto. "Hey, Kiba, did you hear what I said." Kibas eyes snapped to attention and he nodded slowly. Jiraiya wondered if he was serious. He decided to call his bluff. "What did I just say then?"

Kiba swallowed the jerky in his mouth and a look of concentration fell on his face. As if trying to recall something from long ago. "You said we're going to make a great team." Kiba said proudly.

A giant sweat drop appeared on Jiraiyas head. "You didn't hear anything I said liar. Honesty and trust are also important on a team." Kiba's attention was once again starting to drift. Jiraiya once again popped a vain. "Lesson number one. Always be aware of your surroundings and pay attention." Jiraiya saw he still wasn't paying attention, he saw Shino was very attentive and had raised his brow in curiosity when Jiraiya unslung the huge scroll from his back. "You got that Kiba?" Jiraiya asked patiently, without even looking at him Kiba absently nodded his head. What happened next happened with alarming speed. Jiraiya raised his scroll above his head and brought it crashing down on Kibas foot. Kiba had no time to react he only saw a shift in movement before the pain shot up his leg and forced a scream out of him. YYYYAAAUUGGGGHH! Jiraiya lifted the scroll and Kiba fell on his butt indian style and cradled his now throbbing and swollen foot.

Kiba looked at Jiraiya with anger in his eyes and yelled at him. "What the hell is wrong with you! Why the hell did you do that for you bastard!" Kiba looked like he wanted to jump on Jiraiya and pound him to the ground, but his foot wouldn't let him. Akamaru was now next to Kiba growling at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya looked at them calmly and replied. "It was a test, to see how quickly you learn and your awareness." Jiraiya had used this same test on Naruto and it had been successful. Jiraiya often wondered how Naruto could still walk after all the abuse his feet took, but that was a question he would never have an answer too. He wondered how long it would take for Kiba to catch on. Could it be this guy is slower than Naruto, Jiraiya wondered. Impossible, he thought nobody should be that slow.

Kiba wasn't satisfied with Jiraiya's answer because he asked, "What the hell does that mean!" Even though the throbbing pain was starting to diminish Kiba could still not stand up.

It was Shino that answered this question. "I believe what Jiraiya-sama is trying to accomplish is to raise your awareness. Had you been paying attention to him, you would have noticed his strange behavior and been on guard when he made his move. You would have avoided this whole incident and your foot would not be hurting." Jiraiya liked this guy, he showed respect and knew the purpose of the exercise from the first time he saw it. Shino then said, "I don't think Kurenai or the Hokage would approve of this method of teaching." Shino was looking at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya chuckled a little bit, Shino was very smart he noted and subtle about his communication. "It may not be orthodox, but it is effective and it conditions you to be aware at all times not only on missions, but also when you may appear vulnerable." He nodded his head satisfied with his answer.

Hinata finished packing up and was just taking her time getting to the practice grounds. She was thinking of the mission which they had been sent on. The group mission was to accompany Jiraiya and assist him in any way possible. Hinata had found it a little suspicious that they would be sent on such a simple mission with so many other missions coming in. However Hinata had been given an extra mission and she kept reviewing the hokages words to make sure she had everything right. Tsunade told her that her mission was the true mission the mission given to the group was just a cover for this mission to be carried out successfully. Hinata was to spy on Jiraiya at all times and report any relevant information back to the Hokage. The Hokage felt that Jiraiya knew far more than he was letting on and felt that his information was relevant to the village. She did not want to find out information to late to act upon it and felt this was the best way to go about it. Hinata thought maybe she was overthinking the mission. Maybe it was because she wanted to be successful for the Hokage. Tsunade had given her, her trust and she wanted to earn the compliment that the Hokage had bestowed on her. That she was the best spy for the mission and she still had a lot of potential. This comment had really made Hinata blush, but she felt good about that and the last thing she wanted was to prove the Hokage wrong. By the time she made it to the practice field her mind was at ease and she immediately noticed Kiba's injured foot. "Ano, are you okay Kiba?" She asked Kiba grumbled something which Hinata took as an affirmative and she then looked a Jiraiya and Shino and asked them, "What happened?"

Jiraiya had noticed her before Shino or Kiba and noted how stealthily she had approached without even trying she was within attacking distance before Shino noticed. Jiraiya noted that Kiba may have noticed her earlier by his lack of recognition. She asked her question and he thought about how to answer if he told her then she would be aware already and he had to test her awareness as well. "Oh he just had an accident. No big deal." He said he started moving closer to her as he asked his question. "So what took you so long? You were supposed to meet us over fifteen minutes ago." Jiraiya was standing very close to her waiting for her answer.

Hinata really had no good answer to this. She brought her hands together and twiddled with her thumbs before she answered. "D-demo, I guess I just took longer getting ready than I thought I would." Her eyes flicked towards Jiraiya as he removed his giant scroll. "Ano, did I miss anything and what are you planning to do with that scroll?" Hinata asked.

Jiraiya was satisfied with Hinata's awareness. He saw no point in continuing further so he decided it was time to begin the real test in earnest. A small smile spread on his face as he began to explain what he wanted to do. "Since we are all here I think it is time to start becoming familiar with each others fighting methods. There is a saying that only through battle can you know who you are dealing with. So what I want is for you three to try to capture me by any means necessary. You are accustomed to each other so you are familiar with each other I on the other hand have a lot of catching up to do. So this would be the perfect opportunity to see how you three work together." Jiraiya's smile widened. " To make this interesting let's make this a wager, you will have two hrs. to complete this task if you are successful then I will treat for a week of our journey. However if you fail then you will have to treat me for a week. How does that sound." Jiraiya asked.

Hinata and Shino were about to think it over when out of nowhere Kiba blurted out. "You're on old man, I can't wait to eat free food!" A vain popped on Jiraiya's head. "Let's go guys, we can take this guy." He grabbed Shino and Hinata and dragged them away. Leaving Jiraiya standing there.

Seeing them take off Jiraiya decided to sit down. "This should be interesting." He said to himself he sat indian style and thought about what dishes he would order when they treated him.

Kiba and his partners were hiding behind the bushes. Hinata was the first to speak. "Do you think that was a good idea? He looks like a difficult opponent." Hinata asked. She didn't like having been put in this situation.

Kiba looked at his team mates with surprise. " I can't believe how little faith you have in our skills. He's just one old man. We have the advantage here. Plus, Shino is a genius and Hinata you're.." He paused trying to think of what to say. "Great, that's what you are. Let's go for it, it's to late to go back now. We have less than two hours." He looked at Shino with expectation on his face. "So what's the plan Shino?" He asked.

Shino looked at his friend and thought about it. "To have you pay if we loose. That old man as you refer to him is a Sannin." Shino looked at Kiba to see he was completely clueless. "In other words he's probably better than anyone we have faced so far." Kiba let out a disbelieving grunt. "I assume you won't back down so we could try some things and see how he reacts." Shino proceeded to explain his ideas to his team mates.

Temari was at the entrance deep in thought. She was thinking about leaving and not waiting for them. After all she reasoned they knew how to get there and an official request had been sent that they would respond to. She was leaning more and more towards leaving when a voice broke into her thoughts. "Hey Temari, Kakashi and Sakura will be here shortly. We shouldn't have long to wait before we head out." Naruto said. Temari had been so deep in thought she was taken by surprise when he showed up like that. It also surprised her how fast he had been in arriving. She looked at him and saw he was just like he was in the Hokage's office. Naruto noticed her looking at him and asked "Whats wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Temari didn't expect the question, but since it was on her mind anyways she responded quickly. "Oh you looked just like at the office how did you pack for the mission so quickly." She asked.

"I packed this morning." Naruto answered, he knew she would ask why so he decided to go on. He spoke in a conversational voice. "I was taught to always be ready for a mission, so now I pack every morning as if I have a mission to do. So I'm always ready." He let out a laugh, but cut it quickly. " My sensei says that's the only way I could pack properly, otherwise I would forget something." Upon saying that he stopped and looked like he was thinking of something. He was wondering if he remembered everything. He would hate it if he had forgotten something, especially if it were important.

He reached towards his chest to make sure the Hokages gift was still there. His fingers reached the gift and felt the other gift and he felt the new addition there. Remembering it, he began to wonder what Hinata was doing.

Naruto had been quiet for a little while looking lost in thought. She wondered what he was thinking and that brought her to many more thoughts about him. It was not in her nature to let her curiosity linger so she decided to ask him. "Why are you doing this Naruto? Why are you so willing to help Gaara? I know I may be out of line, but just tell me why." She asked. Even though Naruto was standing there he seemed to awaken when he heard her question.

Naruto had be so lost in thought that he had a little trouble gathering his thoughts. He hadn't expected the question and really had to think about it before giving her an answer. A lot of memories went through his mind. Finding out Gaara had a monster inside him. Being on the playground when he was little and everyone leaving with family turning their backs on him and leaving him alone. The crushing loneliness. Finally he remembered the words Jiraiya had spoken to him once words that had stayed with him throughout their journey. He used those words to answer Temaris question. "Gaara is like me, my master once told me. Only those that have been through similar situations can know your situation. Value them because they are few and far between. The more unique the understanding the more you should value it." Naruto looked down a little bit at his next words. "I understand Gaara. Me and him have an understanding that, I guess I could say, nobody else could understand. It's hard to explain, but in a weird way I think of Gaara as a kindred spirit. That's why I want to help him. I know he would do the same for me as well."

Temari was touched. She thought she understood where he was coming from, but he wasn't great at articulating. She wanted to ask him some more things, but at that moment Kakashi showed up with Sakura close behind him. It was time to go.

**PREVIEW**

Finally a mission begun, time for some action with team 8. How will the situation develop in the village of sand.

**RSO**

dragonman180- Who knows what will happen to the gong when Naruto and Hinata hook up. I sure don't. lol not yet anyways.

acrazygirlofmanynames- I am so glad to hear that.

snakeeye12- yes sasuke will show up later. I don't have any plans for Sasu/Saku yet. I want to finish this arc first and see where I can go with it. I have a ton of ideas, but the challenge is working them all in. Gots to plan ahead dontchaknow. lol.

FFz- I know these few chs. have been kind of slow, but I'm trying to get some things out of the way so that when I get to the action, I can really get to it. Also these next few chs. will definetely have action.

warprince- done. Hope you like it.

Everyone thanx for reviewing. let me know what you think. Whatever comment pops into your mind don't hesitate to let me know. (storywise that is)


	16. Chapter 16

Here is the latest ch. I hope everybody enjoys it. Feel free to review afterwards.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**TEAM 8's CHALLENGE BEGINS**

The group finally gathered at the entrance of the village. Kakashi surveyed the scene and everything looked good he said. "Looks like we're ready. Let's head out." Before the last word was out of his mouth Naruto and Temari were already moving. Not wasting any time to begin their journey. Kakashi followed wondering about what he had just observed. Temari he could understand, this mission was very pertinent to her, more so than it was to Sakura or himself. Her reaction was understandable what bothered Kakashi though was Naruto, he had taken off in the same manner as Temari. What was Naruto's motivation to act like that Kakashi wondered. He hoped everything would work out well, but only time would tell.

Sakura had taken off right behind Kakashi and was keeping pace with him. She saw he was thinking about something and let him do so for a short ways. After a while though she couldn't suppress her curiosity. "Kakashi-san, ano..." She waited for Kakashi to look at her and when he did she continued. "Back at the Hokage's office she said she would send backup as soon as possible. I assume she meant another team. Who do you think she will send?" She asked.

Kakashi hadn't given this much thought and it proved a little difficult to give an answer he felt confident in. "I'm not really sure Sakura, it could be anybody." He answered. In his mind though he didn't really care, he just hoped it wasn't his annoying rival.

About a mile outside of Konoha a group of people were walking. When all of a sudden one of them had a very intense sneezing fit. His whole body jumped with each sneeze. His companions all stopped to see if he was better. When they saw the sneezing fit passed they started moving on again.

"Kazuntight." Neji said as he walked on.

"Bless you." Tenten said as she followed Neji.

"Aha!" Rock Lee exclaimed. "A secret admirer that can't help but to think of you, master Guy." He let out a whoop and said. "I bet it was a girl that saw us on our mission and can't take her mind off of you.

Gai looked at his beloved pupil and saw the reason in his words. "Yes, you are probably right Rock Lee I am after all a beautiful specimen." With that he flashed a brilliant smile and gave Rock Lee a thumbs up.

Rock Lee spoke to his other team mates then. "Oh one day Sakura will have me dying of sneezes. Neji, Tenten don't you agree. To think she might at this very moment be thinking of thinking about me." He sniffed a few times hoping to sneeze so he could confirm his thought.

Tenten had to try hard not to laugh at Rock Lee and with the utmost effort responded. "You never know Rock Lee, she might be." A giggle escaped her lips and she quickly covered her mouth. Rock Lee hardly noticed he was waiting to hear Neji response.

When he saw Neji wasn't responding he tried to get a response out of him. "Ahh, Neji it is a shame you don't have that kind of relationship with anybody, yet. To have someone special to you think of thinking of you like my dear Sakura is thinking of thinking of me." A short laughter erupted from Tenten's lips. She quickly cut it off though.

When her two team mates turned towards her she said. "Sorry, I just remembered a funny joke." She saw Rock Lee was waiting for her to tell her the joke so she continued. "Ano, sorry Rock it's a girly joke."

As soon as Rock Lee heard those words he whipped his head around and caught Neji's eye before he could look away and avoid the question. The top of Neji's face turned blue. Why did he have to deal with these two guys in his group he thought. He let out a sigh and said. "You know Rock Lee, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe she is thinking of thinking of you." He saw the smile forming on Rock Lee's face and decided he wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction. "Then again she could be training diligently like she should and focusing solely on that, or she could be involved in a mission with her life on the line. You just never know do you, Rock Lee." Neji finished talking and turned around to keep walking. Leaving his team mate behind in thought.

At a practice field in Konoha, in the middle of the field Jiraiya sat in silence. It had been a good while he thought to himself enough for his new team to formulate a plan. Now it was just a matter of waiting for them to make their move so he could see what they were made of.

Shino had explained his plan to Kiba and Hinata now all that was left was to hope it worked. If it didn't Shino had a great view point to see the action and determine if Jiraiya had any weaknesses. Meanwhile Kiba and Hinata had positioned themselves in their places. Hinata crept as close as she could without being noticed and brought out a pack of Kunai's. She looked at Jiraiya and confirmed he was completely relaxed. She then put the pack in a easily accessible position on her hips and took two out. With two quick flicks of her risk she sent them flying. As soon as they had left her hands she ran from her hiding spot to another area and reached for two more kunai's.

Jiraiya heard the kunai's cutting the air and acted immediately. He plucked one out of the air and sent it flying back the direction it had come from. He grabbed the other Kunnai with his other hand and observed the area where he had thrown the kunnai to see if there was any movement. He would have hated to have actually hurt one of the kids so quickly. Unless it was that guy Kiba. When he saw there was no movement he was about to swing his head around to re-assess his surroundings when out of the corner of his eyes he caught two more kunnai's flying towards him. He easily stepped back and avoided one of the kunnai's he caught the second one and put it in his pocket swiftly alongside with the first one he had caught. A thought suddenly occurred to him and it made to much sense to be wrong. He quickly formed his seals and turned around to look around him. Sure enough the Kunnai's were a diversion.

Hinata had quickly moved to her third location and sent the kunnai's flying at Jiraiya. However to her surprise he turned away from her. She knew he had picked up on the tactic they were using, but what really came as a shock to her was that when he turned around his hair became longer reaching all the way down to his knees and her kunnai's harmlessly struck his hair and fell to the ground. She surveyed the situation and even though it hadn't worked perfectly it still served its purpose. All she could do now was put her trust in her team.

Jiraiya spun around to see Akamaru leaping towards him. He quickly moved out of the way as Akamaru lept past him. He saw an opening and took it. Stiking with precision he landed a hard downward blow right above Akamarus shoulder blades and below his neck. Akamaru went down quickly and lay there momentarily. Jiraiya wondered if he had hit him to hard. He saw Akamaru stir and that was enough to confirm he had controlled his blow. Another Akamaru jumped directly in front of him and in a puff of smoke became Kiba. Jiraiya was somewhat impressed had their timing been better he would not have been able to decide which one to attack.

Kiba looked down to make sure his friend was okay, when he saw that he was he looked up at Jiraiya with an intense look in his eyes and angrily shouted at Jiraiya. "You'll pay for that you bastard!" He jumped up and lunged at Jiraiya throwing a punch that was meant to take Jiraiyas head off. Jiraiya had not expected Kibas quickness and barely dodged the punch arcing his back. He saw Kiba continue moving forward and thinking he was going to fall he did not notice when Kiba lifted his back foot off the ground and launched a roundhouse kick. It was done so fluidly Jiraiya would have been laid out had he not caught the movement from the side of his eye. He was still in an awkward position so he couldn't block the kick without giving an opening. He jumped back a few feet and prepared to fight his opponent. He saw Kiba looking calm and collect Akamaru had stood up and was standing next to him now. Jiraiya did not know what was going on anymore, but all of a sudden he felt a very strong pull. Kiba looked at Jiraiya and an evil smile crept onto his face. He said to himself "I told you, you'd pay."

Jiraiya had not looked behind him when he jumped back, so he failed to see Shino's insects that had gathered there. Once he landed in their midst it did not take long for them to start feeding on his chakra. He felt the pull of the insects feeding almost immediately.

Hinata and Shino came out of their respective places and stood next to Kiba. They looked down at Jiraiya who was now on his knees covered to his waist by the insects. Shino thought it suspicious that they had defeated him so easily, but as he was taught he was not about about to let his guard down. Hinata walked up and looked at Jiraiya still curious about the jutsu he had used she had never seen it before and seeing how he had handled the situation she began to admire his skills. Even though he lost she thought he had done well considering their plan. Kiba looked at Jiraiya and laughed he then started talking. "So old man how was that we captured you fair and square in only ten minutes." He didn't mention it had taken them half an hour to devise the plan and set it up. "I guess you'll be paying for all of our dinners for a while now huh?" He felt a nudge at his side and looked at his companion. "Even Akamaru's." He added then let out a chuckle.

Even though Kiba was already starting to gloat over their apparent victory Shino and Hinata had noticed that Jiraiya was not the least bit perturbed. Even though they had not known him long his behavior seemed uncharacteristic to them. Hinata noticed it as well, but it was Shino who questioned it. He cut off Kiba's chuckling with his question. "Why are you smiling?" Kiba looked at Jiraiya for the first time and saw that his friend was right. Why hadn't he noticed it before.

Jiraiya looked up at his new team mates and said, "I guess I'm smiling because my new team mates are so smart. I was very impressed by your coordination." Kiba lit up like a light bulb at this compliment and Hinata blushed slightly.

Shino was not buying it though, this was extremely uncharacteristic of Jiraiya. "What's the real reason? Don't fool me with flattery, answer truthfully or my friends will drain you of all your chakra." Shino said in a menacing tone.

Jiraiya looked up at Shino and let out a long sigh. He dropped his head and slowly raised it. The smile still on his lips. "I did not lie, I am impressed. Especially with you Shino, but the real reason I'm smiling is because I've wasted some of your time and you're none the wiser. So maybe I shouldn't be impressed." He looked to see if any of them had caught on yet and saw they hadn't. He wondered if he should keep up the charade, but figured he had enough information on them to gage their teamwork. He waited a minute to let them look around and think about what he was saying. He cleared his throat to get their attention and then he started talking again. "I guess I should show you what I'm talking about." They all immediately took defensive positions and prepared for any action. Jiraiya put his head down and suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared and hid him from view. The smoke cleared away quickly and they had not been prepared for the sight their eyes met. Where Jiraiya had been there was now a small blue orb the size of a fist to which Shino's insects were drawn. Team eight was stunned at this development and before they could get a grip Jiraiya's voice spoke from behind them. "So do you like my replacement jutsu. I've been carrying that orb with me for a while so it has my scent." They had turned around and were now looking at Jiraiya. Kiba looked like he was about to blow his top. "Yup, that's why your sense of smell was fooled Kiba. You guys underestimated me." Before they could respond another voice said from behind them, "And me." They quickly spun around to see another Jiraiya standing behind them. They tensed and prepared for a fight, but a few paces away from them a third Jiraiya was walking towards them. "You guys still haven't answered my question. I think my Jutsu was good, it served a purpose and succeeded in fooling all of your senses. I'm actually surprised you didn't catch it earlier Hinata, your byakugan should have seen through it." Hinata was taken aback by his awareness of them all. She felt disappointed in herself. She had only used her byakugan on him before they started planning, but didn't think about using it afterwards. She had been careless.

Shino was also impressed. Jiraiya had tested not only their team work, but tested their individual focus and Hinata not picking up on his trick had apparently been a part of that test. They had severly underestimated Jiraiya. What did he plan to do now though. "So now what, you're using the same technique as Naruto. What do you plan to do?" Shino asked.

All three Jiraiya's jaws dropped. The first on recovered first and spoke on their behalf. Outraged he yelled at them. "I'm not using Naruto's technique, this is a basic technique and I've mastered it long before Naruto could so try me. We'll see if my technique is the same as Naruto's was." He didn't mention that Naruto had also mastered the technique during his three years of training. "Prepare yourselves. You've wasted almost an hour of your time and still aren't any closer to trapping me so I'll take this opportunity to test your individual fighting skills." Jiraiya said.

Kiba needed no further invitation. He and Akamaru went after Jiraiya immediately. Thus began team eights fight against Jiraiya.

Out in the village of sand. Kankerou was trying to recover from the poison. He was still in the same room accompanied by Hirai. They were now joined by two other people. Both ancient these were the siblings. One brother and one sister. Hirai had asked what they thought of Kankarous condition. They had been there for a few hours already thoroughly examining Kankarou and checking their findings with their notes. They looked grim throughout the process, but that didn't tell Hirai anything they had looked grim the whole time they had been in her presence even before they started examining Kankarou. Ebizou the brother answered her concerns. "It does not look good young one. He has been fading in and out of consciousness. Never a good sign. Unfortunately we do not have the antidote to the poison used on him. We don't know if he'll pull through." When he finished addressing Hirai he turned to attend Kankarou once again.

Hirai was not satisfied and voiced her opinion. "What do you mean, you two are supposed to be masters of poison and you can't find the antidote for this? Are you just going to sit there and let him die?" Hirai asked in an anguished voice.

Chiyo, the sister who had also been examining Kankarou now turned to face Hirai. She fixed the young shinobi in a cold stare. "Don't speak of what you don't know. This poison is a complex poison interacting with the blood. In order to break down a poison you have to know the exact ingredients to counteract them. We cannot do this because this poison has arleady mingled with his blood. If we tried an antidote on him and miscalculated he would die even faster. Right now the most he has to live is a little over a day. After that his chances of dying are almost guaranteed." Chiyo saw Hirai was struggling a little bit with this information and scolded her. "Why are you sad this is the life of the shinobi. Dealing with life and death is a part of our life. Don't act so weak in our presence. We have heard you can be a good shinobi don't embarrass yourself in front of us." Chiyo said. She turned once again to tend to Kankarou. Hirai couldn't stand it in that room any more she turned around and walked towards the door. When she reached them she turned to look at the scene behind her. Once she had taken everything in she stepped through the doors.

**PREVIEW**

How will team 8 fare against Jiraiya? Konohas blue beast is back, what implications will his return have? Will Kankarou make it? Find out in the next ch. Hopefully.

**RSO**

Dragon987- There is a very good reason I'm sending team 8 with Jiraiya, I know right now it's curious but everything will be revealed in due time. Along with a major shocker. Oh wait I shouldn't spoil things yet. Just keep reading and you'll find out.

Danny- Yeah it does suck, but it really shows Naruto has come a long way. I hope, anyways I think the time apart this time will be good for them. After all absence makes the heart grow fond.

snakeye12- Jiraiya is stronger than you would imagine don't forget he was offered the position of Hokage as well. In answer to your question he's not a bad guy or anything like that, but that doesn't mean he won't keep information to himself. In answer to your second question I'm not sure yet. I guess I'll take a poll after I finish this arc and go with whatever the majority wants.

acrazygirlofmanynames- yeah he is more mature. I'm glad you like that.

Heeroyuyz- Hey I'm not bashing Naruto he's just got back into town of course your not going to see the full extent of his development right away. Keep reading you might enjoy how I develop him.

warprince2000- Done.


	17. Chapter 17

Hey everybody, sorry it took so long to update, but this time it wasn't my fault. Honest. I've been trying to upload this chapter since Saturday, with no luck. Well anyways here is the chapter I hope you all enjoy.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**SEPARATING TEAM 8**

Out on the practice field three fights were getting underway. Kiba had launched himself at Jiraiya and missed. His dive sent him out of earshot of his team mates and Hinata and Shino both knew when that happened they would have to go one on one with the clones. Akamaru had dived at Jiraiya as well, he got the same results as Kiba missing and overshooting Jiraiya. Jiraiya swiftly turned and ran right past them they were trying to position themselves for a second attack, but Jiraiya had moved to fast for them. Kiba and Akamaru turned to face their opponent, but he was already out of their attack range. Seemingly waiting for them. "C'mon Akamaru we can't let that guy get the better of us." Kiba said and led the charge towards Jiraiya. It never crossed Kiba's mind that the Jiraiya's purpose had been to isolate him and he had let him be successful. He kept chasing Jiraiya and Jiraiya kept leading him away from his friends. Kiba had had enough of this cat and mouse game he yelled at Jiraiya. "Don't be a coward, face us!" Jiraiya thought they had gotten far enough by now add to that the fact that he didn't like being called a coward, he decided to stop and face his younger adversary and his pet.

Back at the spot where Kiba had left, Hinata and Shino were still there. They saw Kiba go and tried calling him, but he didn't respond. Hinata moved to run after him, but her path was almost instantly blocked by the other Jiraiya clone. Shino seeing Jiraiya's purpose leaped back and prepared himself to fight Jiraiya. Shino's Jiraiya clone smiled a little bit impressed with Shinos awareness and readied himself to fight as well. Hinata thought the only chance they had to beat Jiraiya was to team up and was about to ask Shino, but when she turned to her friend she saw he was already looking at her, he nodded towards her giving her the go ahead sign. She did not know what he had planned, however she trusted Shino and knew she had to fight. She thought to herself, at least I get to test myself against Naruto's sensei, there is no reason to hold back. She took her fighting stance and started sidestepping around Jiraiya looking for an opening. Jiraiya took a semi-serious stance and followed her movement pivoting on his back foot.

This continued on for a few minutes with Hinata unable to find any opening she could exploit. Even though Jiraiya did not look to be taking this serious to the normal observer Hinata could see that he had taken a defensive stance that prepared him for almost every physical attack. She had to take the initiative otherwise the time limit would pass without a single punch being thrown. She took three quick breaths and pushed off her back foot hard putting herself within striking distance with ease. She threw two quick jabs. Jiraiya saw her coming and he saw her quickness was impressive. He blocked the first jab and evaded the second by shifting slightly to the side. She pulled back the first punch which had been blocked easily. As Hinata drew her second fist back and saw Jiraiya's free hand following her arm back towards her body, her arm was folding back into her stance and Jiraiya's fist was following closely. She made a circular motion with her fore arm intercepting Jiraiya's punch, but did not stop there her arm straightened out in a forward direction catching Jiraiyas retreating elbow and pushing it to the side. Jiraiya was trying to throw another punch, but Hinatas push threw him off because her push didn't allow him to bring his arm around. She put in a little more force pushing Jiraiaya forward and making him have to re-position himself. As he re-positioned himself she quickly swung her front leg catching Jiraiya behind the knee. Dammit, Jiraiya thought he hadn't anticipated her using anything other than the gentle touch and opened himself up for a simple attack, as his leg folded he saw her hand shoot out fingers together and positioned to strike one of his chakra points. He resisted his reflex to get back into standing position and let himself keep going falling back in order to buy himself enough time to bring up his hand and slap her strike away. He avoided the strike successfully but staggered back two steps before righting himself. However that proved not to be fast enough as Hinata stepped forward keeping pace with him she unleashed a powerful open palm strike which landed squarely between Jiraiyas chest and stomach. The impact of the blow sent Jiraiya flying backwards he skidded to a halt about 14 feet away from her. Hinata was stunned, the impact of her strike should have made the clone disappear however this clone was getting back up. Had she not hit it hard enough she wondered she decided that she had to get rid of it by inflicting a more damaging blow to him. A thought crossed her mind, could this be the real Jiraiaya. Jiraiya had not expected such a strong blow from Hinata and his chest and stomach were still feeling the impact. As he got up he did not like the look of determination on Hinata's face. He saw she had turned on her blood limit.

Shino looked at his opponent and started to look for the easiest opening. Seeing the same thing as Hinata he also decided to attack. However he did not attack in the same manner as Hinata, as a matter of fact he acted nonchalant about it. Lazily bringing up his hand and pointing it at Jiraiya like a gun. Jiraiya looked at this with some confusion this was not the reaction he had expected. Shino play fired and yanked his wrist upward. However what Jiraiya took as a joke was not, a cluster of four insects shot out of Shino's sleeve right before he jerked his wrist drawin Jiraiya's attention from the insects. Jiraiya saw the insects however and dodged them. When he looked back at Shino he saw Shino was using the body-flicker technique. Even though to most shinobi it was called the flicker because you could not see the movement Jiraiya was able to pick it up with some effort and saw where Shino appeared as soon as he did so. Shino shot out another cluster of insects as soon as he finished the flicker and flickered again as soon as the insects were airborne. Jiraiya saw this was not going to be easy, not easy at all.

Kiba had not expected Jiraiya to stop and prepare to fight, but at this point he didn't care all he wanted to do was beat this bastard down and prove he wasn't weak. He called Akamaru over and quickly performed his beast human clone jutsu. Akamaru took on Kiba's likeness and they quickly charged toward Jiraiya on all four legs. A sweatdrop appeared on Jiraiya's forehead as he saw what Kiba had done. He wondered if Kiba seriously intended to take him on with such lack of imagination or if he had been playing stupid the whole time to catch Jiraiya off-guard. Jiraiya just couldn't picture Kiba as a strategical genius, but nevertheless heightened his awareness to make sure there wasn't any trap. Kiba and Akamaru were almost upon him and there wasn't any signs of traps. Jiraiya couldn't tell the difference between Kiba and Akamaru, but it really made no difference to him all he had to do was take one down in order to find out which was the real one. Kiba and Akamaru both dived at him at the same time one aiming for his legs and the other for his head as they sailed through the air Jiraiya timed their leaps and also jumped back becoming parallel to the ground and looking up directly at Kiba. Kiba saw him and swung his arm slashing quickly at Jiraiya. However he only caught a piece of Jiraiya's vest as the sannin twisted in the air. Jiraiya was pissed at himself for acting to impulsively he didn't have that much maneuverability in the air like he wanted, but he was able to draw back enough to avoid Kiba's slash. He drew both arms back and quickly shot them forward landing a solid blow on Kiba sending him upwards and out of striking range. However this also sent him flying down. Akamaru had noticed Jiraiyas downward path and stopped just barely being missed by Jiraiyas body. Jiraiya crashed to the ground and rolled forward. Akamaru saw his chance and took a few running steps and made a baseball slide kick towards Jiraiya. Jiraiya saw Akamaru sliding forward, but was to late to completely avoid the hit. He had jumped just barely getting his feet off the ground when Akamaru's feet collided with his knees. Jiraiyas body was sent back into a parallel position with the ground once again by Akamaru's strike but this time he was right above him because Akamaru's momentum kept carrying him onward. Jiraiya shot out a punch, but opened his fist at the last second seeing that Akamaru was going to successfully block it. Instead pushing Akamaru towards the ground and cartwheeling over him. Jiraiya was finally on his feet again, but that relief was shortly lived as Kiba who had regained his balance while Jiraiya scuffled with Akamaru charged at him throwing a punch. Jiraiya saw this and instantly flickered Kiba could have sworn the punch had landed, but Jiraiya was no longer in front of him. He was right behind him. Jiraiya quickly landed an open palm blow directly between Kiba's shoulder blades sending him straight to the ground. "So you're the real Kiba." Jiraiya said when he saw Kiba wasn't changing forms. He quickly spun around and lifted his arms a little bit. Akamaru delivered a kick that landed on Jiraiya's side, however Jiraiya seemed to be anticipating this because he was sidestepping and bringing his arm down. Before Akamaru could draw back his leg Jiraiya wrapped his arm around it and tightened his grip on it holding it tightly in the crook of his arm. He quickly spun his body around lifting Akamaru off the ground and swinging him around. As Jiraiya spun he leaned back so that Akamaru went directly over him before he slammed him to the ground. Jiraiya let go at the last second and Akamaru hit the ground with enough force to visibly shake his body when he crashed to the ground. He immediately reverted back to his dog form. "So that makes you Akamaru." Jiraiya said when he saw Akamaru change forms.

Kiba had gotten up now and was looking at Jiraiya with intense anger. "You bastard this time we won't go easy on you. You'll be sorry for what you did to Akamaru." Kiba growled. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this comment wondering what Kiba had in store for him. Akamaru had gotten up and was now next to Kiba. Kiba formed a few quick seals and a cloud of smoke hid them from Jiraiya's view. When the smoke cleared there were two large Akamarus standing there. Jiraiya had seen enough to determine fighting was not Kiba and Akamaru's strength so he decided it would be best to end this quickly and move on to his next test. Akamaru and Kiba ran towards Jiraiya and jumped towards him simultaneously. Once in the air they began spinning rapidly setting up their double piercing fang (Gatsuga) Jiraiya recognized what they were doing. He knew if they caught him where they wanted him he would be hurt more than he wanted to be. He body flickered to Akamaru's side so that Akamaru was between him and Kiba. He threw a quick jab into the spinning Akamaru which slowed him down enough so he could aim his second punch which he landed successfully. Akamaru fell to the ground as a result of having lost momentum. He quickly tossed a rope on top of him and formed a few seals. The rope bound Akamaru and did not let him move. Kiba had not stopped spinning and was now charging towards Jiraiya even though he knew Akamaru could not help him now he still hoped to land a few blows.

Jiraiya looked at him and said. "Your techniques have no defense. That is why you are beaten so easily by me." He took out another piece of rope and tied the end in a knot while jumping away from the spinning torpedo that was Kiba. Once this was done he grabbed the other end and proceeded to strike Kiba with lightning quick blows. Kiba could not avoid the rope and was struck many times. After a while of this Kiba became worn down and as soon as he slowed down Jiraiya threw the rope around him and performed the binding jutsu once again. Kiba fell to the ground tied up, but he was barking and struggling trying to free himself, unsuccessfully. Jiraiya started trying to speak. "Now that I have your at-YEEAAAOOWW!" Kiba had dragged himself over to where Jiraiya was standing and bit his leg and wasn't letting go. Jiraiya started kicking violently trying to dislodge Kiba without any success. Finally he took off his scroll and started bringing it down on Kiba harder and harder with each time until Kiba let go. Jiraiya fell to his haunches and began cradling his now swelling and bleeding ankle. Jiraiya yelled a stream of curses and brought out another rope. He tossed it on Kiba's muzzle and performed the binding technique once again. This shut Kiba's mouth. At least for a while. Jiraiya tried speaking once again this time uninterrupted as Kiba lay where he was still struggling, but unable to open his mouth all he could do is growl. "Now listen here Kiba I'll only say this once. I shouldn't have to say it at all, but you were to stupid to realize it on your own." Jiraiya said with an edge to his voice. "You should have noticed something immediately after you turned into a wolf. Since you didn't I'll give you another opportunity, but this time it won't be so easy." Jiraiya got up and leaned on the scroll cursing once again. "Once I disappear the ropes on you and Akamaru will disappear." Jiraiya said.

He quickly started forming a series of complex seals, but right before he formed the last one Kiba spoke up. "What are you talking about?" Jiraiya glanced at him to see he had turned back to his human form and the rope around his mouth no longer kept him from talking. Jiraiya did not respond, but was glad to see that Kiba was not a complete idiot.

With that he formed the last seal and whispered to himself. "Earth release, swamp of the underworld." As if on cue the ground started to tremble and trees started rising from the ground. The ground also began becoming soggy. Jiraiya turned to Kiba and said. "See ya kid, good luck." with that he vanished in a puff of smoke. As soon as the Jiraiya clone vanished the ropes binding Kiba loosened and he quickly got up as the landscape around him quickly continued it's transformation. Spreading out farther than his eyes could see. He quickly went to Akamaru and made sure he was ok. When he stood up he notice his feet were sinking into the ground and tried moving but they didn't budge.

"Damn that old man." Kiba yelled in frustration. He pulled harder and his foot finally came up now he had to pull out his other leg. He saw Akamaru was having the same difficulty and formed his seals quickly turning Akamaru into a human so he would have less work with his feet. Their situation was not looking good however. Kiba saw the rope that had been tying Akamaru had not sunk and quickly picked it up. He pulled out his other foot, but could not move anywhere because of he could not pull his feet out fast enough to make any progress. The worst thing he saw was that the landscape had completely become a swamp. He could no longer see the sky and water was flooding the ground making moving even harder. Akamaru was also having no success. Kiba cursed Jiraiya under his breath for this. He brought a kunnai and tied the rope around the kunnai as tightly as he could he had been a little surprised at the length of the rope but was glad for it. Otherwise it would have been useless. He threw the kunai as hard as he could at the nearest tree and it buried itself almost all the way. He told Akamaru to grab a hold of him and help him push while he pulled. Together they struggled to make it out of the sinking ground. By the time they had pulled themselves out and climbed the tree half an hour had elapsed from their separation with the group. Once in the trees Kiba and Akamaru rested and gathered their thoughts.

Meanwhile Shino was easily keeping his Jiraiya on his toes. He was now having the insects follow Jiraiya and try to get on him in order to start eating his chakra. Shino knew that if he took enough chakra from the clone no matter how well made it was it would have to disappear. However the insects were also having trouble following Jiraiya because he was also using the body flicker technique and the insects couldn't keep up with him. Shino was starting to grow tired of this game though. He planned to end it soon by unleashing a larger amount of insects so that no matter where Jiraiya went they would be waiting for him. Once they clung to him they would not be dislodged so easily. Before he did this though he noticed something he had not noticed before. With each flicker Jiraiya did he formed a different seal Shino had not picked this up earlier and had no idea how long Jiraiya had been doing this. Uncertainty crawled into Shino's head for the first time and he regretted having decided to play a game when he should have finished this off quickly. He quickly ordered his insects to blanket the area hoping it was not to late. Jiraiaya had been working on this jutsu for a while and had been disguising it as the seal to body flicker, but after a while it seemed everything was ok and he sped up his seal forming. He was almost done when he saw the insects begin to congregate. He formed the last few seals in a hurry and flickered to an area the insects hadn't gotten to yet. Shino saw Jiraiya had stopped flickering and thought it was to late, but sent his insects towards him nevertheless, in hopes that he was overestimating the sannin. Jiraiya drew in as much air as he could into his lungs and started to blow it out. Shino saw him inhale and when he exhaled flames erupted from his lips and spanned outwards about 10-20 feet. He started walking in a circle surrounding himself by the fire. Shino raised an eyebrow curious about this because he did not see what Jiraiya was planning. Halfway through the circle though a fresh burst of flame erupted from Jiraiya's starting point and recreated the effect of Jiraiya's jutsu. Shino had never seen this before, but Jiraiya had successfully created a ring of fire around himself that did not burn out. The ring was close to 30 ft. in diameter with 5 ft. in the middle which Jiraiya occupied. Shino could only wonder what Jiraiya planned to do now he had successfully protected himself from Shino's insects because of the heat he was generating, but did he plan to just wait this out Shino decided to send his insect higher and maybe get to Jiraiya from above. What Shino couldn't see was that Jiraiaya wasn't finished. Now that he had protection that gave him time to work on his next jutsu.

In the meantime Tsunade was in her office getting impatient because nobody had returned yet. She needed somebody to return so she could send them out to help out Kakashis group. She put her elbows on her desk and clamped her hands on the side of her head. (yeah she got a new desk) She let out a yell of frustration. Once she had vented a little bit she went over the information she had received from Jiraiya. Flashback.

Tsunade asked Jiraiya how Naruto had developed. Jiraiya looked at her in a somber fashion making he worry and began to speak. "As far as his skills are concerned he is on the level of a jounnin. His powers have increased an immense amount though." He looked thoughtful for a moment considering how much information to divulge. "We've trained in controling the Kyubbi's power and so far he's been able to master up to four tails." Tsunade's eyes widened at that revelation. Jiraiya however did not stop there. "However if he is emotional he may loose control he almost lost control once and the destruction he caused was incredible. Luckily we were away from any people. I was able to get in under control with these seals." He had brought out a stack of papers on each one an extremely complicated design was drawn. "Whatever you do wherever you send him make sure these seals are near him otherwise there is a possibility the Kyubbi can use him as a medium. If it gets to that stage Naruto will not die, at least no immediately, but it will be the demon fox who is in control." Jiraiya lay the stack of seals on the Hokage's desk. "Of course this is only my theory, but it would be unwise to test it out and have it proven wrong." End of flashback.

Tsunade's eyes snapped wide and her whole body tensed up. She had forgotten to send the seals with Kakashi! She could no longer wait she had to send somebody out after them. She got up from her seat and was about to head out the door when it slowly began to open. It appeared somebody was here to see her.

**Preview**

Who is it that wants to see the Hokage and what do they want. Is team 8 toast. Am I wasting my time writing this preview considering that by the time you read this chapter eighteen will already be up? Who know only time will tell, muahhahahahaha!

**RSO**

trolly-Wow, thanks for reviewing. It really means alot to me that you think that way. No problem I can follow that advice.

dragonma180-Yeah, he woulda fooled me too, and I'm the aurthor. J/K. I hope you like the action I'm putting in. Sorry you didn't find out if they could win this ch. Don't worry though, you'll find out soon enough.

trolly-Sorry, Naruto already set out to the village of sand and it'll be awhile before he gets there. Oh but when he does it's on. Naruto will definetely be back in the story very soon though.

FFz-I'm glad you like it. Sometimes I worry I'm not conveying the action the way I want to. Thanx for letting me know it was good though that helps out alot.

Acrazygirlofmanynames-I'm glad you liked it.

Danny-Damn, you definetely got a good eye for detail. I didn't even realize that. However since I'm to lazy to go back and change it, I will justify it. They no longer share the teacher-student relationship but are on equal terms. So that's why Sakura used the term. However now that you pointed it out I will definetely get a reaction next time I use this. Kakashi just didn't notice this time because his mind was pretty occupied.

warprince- Done and done.

snakeeye12-Well, I hope you enjoy her fight. I really want to get alot out of her fightwise, because I like her style and like you I see alot of potential in her. However this will be one area where her shyness will not be a factor I've always thought she had the heart of a warrior. It's just when it comes to matters of the heart that she falters a little.


	18. Chapter 18

How you all like that, two chapters in one day. J/K. I hope everybody enjoys this.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form but if I did this is how it would go.

**FINDING JIRAIYA**

After having left Kankorou's side Hirai had gone to see one of her team mates. She had had a brief discussion with him. Now however she came to a place she came to when she wanted to think or be alone. Temari had shown her this place it was one of the tallest building in the sand village and gave a great viewpoint of the desert surrounding the village. However not many people knew this place. It was hidden from view and from most vantage points except the sky you could not tell there was a place where somebody could occupy. Much less two people after all this was Temari's place and she had shown it to her. It made Hirai feel special knowing one of Temari's secrets and she wondered where Temari was at that moment, she hoped she was on her way. She went over the discussion she had with her team mate and apparently nobody knew what had happened with the Kazekage yet. It seemed they were going to try to get him back before anybody was any wiser. This at least gave her hope that they weren't abandoning him. Hirai leaned back and looked up at the sky. A lot had happened recently and she needed to get all of her thoughts in order. What Chiyo had said struck a chord within her and she had been right this was not the time to be weak. A ninja could not afford the luxury of being weak.

The Hokages doors opened and on the other side was Gai and his team. Tsunade felt such a wave of relief wash over her that it was a team returning from a mission and not some political visit. She couldn't help but smile she slumped back into her chair and took a breath of relief. However that relief was short lived as she remembered the urgency of the situation. Gai was walking through the door when Tsunade snapped to attention and told him to hurry his ass up. Gai had no idea what was going on but he and his team hustled to the front of the Hokage's desk. Gai was about to give his verbal report when Tsunade cut him off. "Just nod your head if the mission was successful." She barked. Gai nodded his head. "Good, just leave your report on my desk and I'll read it as soon as possible. I have a new mission for you." Gai and the rest of his team were struck by the urgency in the Hokage's voice and did not complain. Gai put the report on Tsunades desk and awaited her instructions. Tsunade's face softened a little bit as she realized she might be looking like she was loosing a little poise. "I'm sorry to act like this and not give you any rest, however the situation is extremely urgent." She said composing herself and preparing to explain the situation. "We had an urgent request from the sand, apparently their Kazekage has been kidnapped and they requested our help."

"Nani!" Gai and his team explained as they heard the news. Rock Lee asked his question quickly. "This is some sort of joke, right. Gaara is one of the strongest individuals any of us have ever encountered, and he's the leader of the sand now. They wouldn't let something like this happen." He said this with conviction in his voice half expecting the Hokage say something like, you got me April fools. No such thing happened.

Tsunade could understand Rock Lee's viewpoint. Her brow furrowed and she explained. "I'm sorry Rock Lee. This is not a joke, yes Gaara is a powerful fighter, but that does not mean he could not be beaten. Regardless help has already been sent and I am sending you to help them. You're team will assist Kakashi's team in this mission." Rock Lee started moving ready to go as soon as possible, but Tsunade wasn't through. "I'm not finished explaining the mission." She saw the curious looks on all their faces and thought about how to best explain it. "If you don't know, Naruto came back. On this mission one of your parameters is to stay near him and take some of these seals with you." She placed the stack of seals on the edge of her desk for them to take. Neji looked at the seals and was really impressed, he had never seen seals of this magnitude and power outside of books in the Hyugga library. To think that they even existed was amazing. "I can't explain it in full detail, suffice to say that you must be Naruto at all times. If he were to loose control of himself you must attach two of these seals on to him. Understood." None of them really understood why, but they knew this was an important part of their mission. They all nodded affirmatives.

Gai took the notes and asked. "Is that all, Hokage?" He looked at her and waited for her response his team also waited anxious to be on their way.

Tsunade looked at them and took a deep breath. "No, that is all." She said. They quickly turned to leave and were almost at the door when Tsunade spoke again. "Wait." They stopped at her request and turned their heads to look back at her. "I just want to tell you you've done a good job for me... and I wanted to wish you good luck." Gai and his team were touched by the Hokage's words, but none of them were as touched as Rock Lee. He was on the verge of tears of appreciation.

Rock Lee had an immense respect for the Hokage, she was the one who gave him the ability to fight again after he had lost it. She placed much trust in him and this meant a great deal to Rock Lee. The rest of the team filed out the door, but Rock Lee did not move. He looked at the Hokage and in a clear voice he made his vow. "Arigauto, Tsunade-sama. We will not fail in this mission you have given us." With that he slipped out the door and followed his team leaving Tsunade once again alone in her office. Tsunade sat there contemplating everything something she took to doing often now and hoped everyone came back safely.

Back at the practice field surrounded by a ring of fire Jiraiya completed a series of seals and looked up at the sky. He brought his hands towards his head and cupped the back of his head and neck. He inhaled an inhuman amount of air and when he exhaled a huge flame of fire spiraled out from his lips and towered into the sky. About fifty five feet above the ground the tower of fire stopped and started to gather. A circle started growing and continued to grow. Jiraiya could no longer blow but he felt it had been sufficient fire. As it was the fire ball floating above him kept growing feeding on itself. Jiraiya then started forming seals once again. Shino stood a good distance from Jiraiya and his ring of fire watching the spectacle. He did not know what Jiraiya was planning to do. He did not want to take to many chances though so he called back his insects. He did not want them near the the ball of fire when Jiraiya chose to use it. As he looked on the ring of fire around Jiraiya dispersed and Shino had a clear view of Jiraiya. Jiraiya finished forming his seals and whispered to himself "Rain of fire." The giant ball of fire above him immediately flattened out and spread out in the sky covering a huge area. Flames started falling from the fire in the sky. Shino was captivated by the scene the fire looked like clouds covering the sky and it looked like it was beginning to rain fire. Small flames were falling around him and steadily growing in size. He was amazed that the jutsu covered so much ground and thought of the crazy amount of chakra it must've took to pull this off. Shino did not move however. Jiraiya saw shino and wondered how he would react. He wasn't moving at all and Jiraiya knew if Shino didn't move soon he would be burned up. Jiraiya was about to yell at Shino when his fear was realized. Shino was pelted by flames and caught fire. Jiraiya yelled Shino's name, but could not leave his area or else he would meet the same fate as Shino. However instead of burning Shino dispersed. Insects flying from where he was standing and leaving the area. Jiraiya saw this and was highly impressed. So it wasn't the real Shino he had been fighting, but a bug clone. Jiraiya started laughing and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The sky cleared when he disappeared.

Hinata charged towards Jiraiya. Jiraiya had barely got up when she charged at him. He noticed her speed had increased, unfortunately he had no time to appreciate that as she was upon him throwing lightning quick jabs. He was only able to keep up with her because he had been in so many fights over the years and was familiar with her fighting style. However his advantage was negated by her byakuggan, because she could also he was his body's intentions were before they were fully realized. Both of them were fighting one step ahead of their strikes. Jiraiya was impressed he had not expected this but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve he might try. After a minute of fighting with such intensity Jiraiya saw he was not going to win like this and decided to start using more moves. He body flickered a few feet behind her, but Hinata saw what he was going to do and moved quickly to counter him. He was a second ahead of Hinata and dodged a side kick she had aimed at his head. He felt the wind blow as her foot flew past his head. He felt the contact her foot made with his hair and brought up his shoulders so she could not disengage as easily. Hinata saw this and started twisting her body so she was looking at him face to face. He brought up his hand and was about to grab her foot when she pressed down with incredible force and went into a back flip kick. Jiraiya quickly pushed body flickered away nanoseconds before impact. Damn he thought to himself, he hadn't expected her to be so flexible, it must have been the jacket that gave him the impression that she wasn't such a good physical fighter, but damn she was much better than he had expected. He had created some breathing room and as they took their stances Jiraiya saw the tower of fire rising into the sky. If it had come to that he knew it was time to stop playing around. His stance was no longer casual as before and he hoped he was successful. Hinata noted this change and took in a deep breath preparing herself and clearing her mind. Hinata charged at him and engaged him this time though when Jiraiya flickered away she used the empty palm technique and open palm thrust that launched the chakra from her hands allowing her a more range. Jiraiya was pushed hard by the invincible chakra hand. This time it was she who flickered right in front of him. He instantly recognized her stance as the 64 palms technique. He had underestimated her before and paid he would not underestimate her a second time. He flickered behind her and not a moment to soon he had felt the pressure of her first strike as he flickered. Hinata missed and the next thing she as she spun around he open palm struck her on the side of her jacket, hard. This time it was she who skidded a few feet away from him. She immediately started unbuttoning her jacket, she had seen it all to clearly with her byakugan, when Jiraiya struck her he had an explosive note in his palm with what was the equivalent of super glue on the side facing her. She got up quickly expecting the note to explode at any moment at Jiraiya's whim. She started jumping away from him in case he came after her, but in her peripheral vision she saw he was being attacked. When she looked up she recognized Shino's insects, they had swarmed Jiraiya and attached themselves onto him while he had been preoccupied with Hinata. They were draining him of all his chakra and after a few moments of watching this he disappeared in a cloud of smoke as well. She had been wrong about fighting the real Jiraiya then. Even though she was grateful for Shino's help for some odd reason she felt a twinge of disappointment. As Shino walked towards her she thanked him. "Arigatou Shino-san. Can you help me get this seal off please." Shino looked at the note with the seal on it and released a few insects who got on the seal and started draining the seals chakra. This was done in a few seconds.

When they were through they returned to Shino. He told Hinata. "There is no danger in removing the note now." Shino waited while she did so and nodded his head when she thanked him again. "I apologize for not getting here sooner. We should find Kiba now and search for the real Jiraiya." Shino said.

Hinata thought about this and spoke up. "Why don't I search for him with my byakugan?" Before Shino could answer she saw the reasoning in this. "Oh, I see Kiba's sense of smell can cover more ground than my byakugan and we could find him faster with my eyes than we could find the real Jiraiya. Hmm." Hinata said more to herself than to Shino. Behind Shino's jacket he smiled a little bit. This was one of the reasons he liked Hinata. She saved him a lot of saliva. They moved on in the direction that Kiba had gone.

A few miles away sitting on top of a cliff was Jiraiya. He had been there watching all of team eight's struggles from this vintage point through his telescope. He took down a few notes as he saw fit and was forming a very accurate idea of the team. He was not let down, they were very solid. Shino caught his attention the most as far as being the most accomplished, but he saw a lot of potential in their group. He wondered how long it would take them to find him. He looked in another direction towards the riverbanks, but he was disappointed once again. The girls weren't coming out to play at all today. What bad luck he thought. He was bored.

Shino and Hinata had walked a good distance from their starting point when Hinata activated her byakugan. She scanned the landscape from left to right and almost as soon as she started scanning the landscape a surprise came into her field of vision. There was a swamp about a mile away from them. She had a gut feeling that's where Kiba was and motioned for Shino to follow her. She turned off her byakugan. She wanted to conserve chakra for when she had to search out Kiba in the swamp.

Kiba had felt rested and wondered what his next step should be. Now that he had gotten his thoughts under control he saw that he had messed up by letting his emotions get the best of him. He went over the events leading up to this and his thoughts stopped on Jiraiya's words to him before he disappeared. "You should have noticed this as soon as you turned into a wolf." Those had been his words. Kiba thought about what he had meant. He had been thinking about this when Akamaru started sneezing. Kiba looked at him and saw he had turned back into his animal form. Kiba chuckled. "Poor Akamaru something must have bothered your nose." That's when it hit him. That must have been what Jiraiya had been talking about. He quickly communicated this thought to Akamaru and changed into his animal form as well. As soon as he did that though he saw why Jiraiya said it would be harder for him. It was more difficult to travel from tree to tree because of his size and the ground was out of the question. He turned back into his human form and thought about his situation some more. He communicated all his ideas with Akamaru trusting his friends judgment.

Hinata and Shino had arrived at the edge of the swamp. Hinata turned on her byakugan and searched through the swamp. Kiba and Akamaru did not come into her field of view. She told this to Shino "I can't see them, we should move on further and check again." She was about to start walking when Shino put a hand on her shoulders to halt her.

"You didn't check the tree's. They may be in the branches, looking at the ground it is unlikely they are at ground level." Shino said. He had noticed the sogginess of the ground and knew it was dangerous ground he hoped Kiba was all right. Hinata did as Shino asked feeling a little bad that she had not thought of that. After a few minutes of scanning the trees she found them. Kiba was sitting crosslegged next to Akamaru, she saw Akamaru change back into his animal form. She told Shino all of this. "Hmm. I'll send my insect in after him tell me how to get to him guiding my insects." She nodded her head and searched for the easiest route to Kiba, all the while giving Shino the instructions which he relayed to his insects.

Kiba was still thinking of ideas when the insects reached him. He recognized them as Shino's insects. He asked Akamaru if he thought it was a trap. When Akamaru communicated to him he didn't think it was a trap Kiba pumped a fist in the air. "All right! Let's go Akamaru it's time for team eight to find that old man." Akamaru turned into his human form with Kiba's help and together they followed the insects to Shino and Hinata.

Once they were together again Shino explained their plan. Kiba was to use his nose to track down Jiraiya and Hinata was to use her byakugan at certain intervals to scan their path for traps. Once they were set they set out to find Jiraiya.

Out on the cliff Jiraiya had seen the whole exchange and saw them start coming towards him at what seemed to him a snail's pace. "I should have set the time limit at an hour so this boredom would end." He said with that he lay down to wait. Team eight would not get to him within the time limit he had set much less capture him. As he lay there he thought of the journey before them. It would be a long trek and they should not encounter any real danger, but the information he sought, you just never knew. After all he thought. They would be dealing with one of the seven swordsmen of the mist.

**PREVIEW**

Has Naruto made it to the sand yet? Will I put in something that will make you want to read even more. Foreshadowing. What will happen with team 8 and their mission and will Kankarou survive? You gotta wait to find out. Because the next chapter isn't written yet. Muahhahahahahaha! Oy, I'm sorry if I teased to hard. (or am I?)

**RSO**

Since I posted ch's back to back there are no reviews for me to respond to. However I would like to take this time and tell everybody who's reviewed my story so far thank you.

If you are writing a story yourself let me know I like to read as well. Hmm, I don't really know what else to say. Oh ok, a while back I asked if any of you had pairing you would like to see. Well, nobody responded so after much thought these are other pairing which I am thinking of including. Tenten/Neji Saku/Rock and Shino/Ino. Well, I guess that's all for now. If you have any thoughts on these pairings speak now or forever hold your umm peace I think or is it silence. Well you all know what I mean. Till next time.

PLS Review!


	19. Chapter 19

Here's a new update. Hope everybody enjoys. Pls review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**CATCHING UP**

Jiraiya had been laying down for about half an hour when he decided enough was enough. He took out his telescope and searched the landscape for his new team. He found them quickly enough. He looked at his watched and saw they still had fifteen minutes to go. He decided to go and meet them about halfway. He had been bored for long enough it was time to move on. He put up his telescope and stretched his limbs. After he finished stretching out he rolled up his sleeve and bit his thumb he formed a few seals and summoned a huge toad. The toad he summoned was much larger than the ones he usually rode. It was about three times his height. It looked down at Jiraiya and in a deep voice asked. "Why have you summoned me."

Jiraiya pointed off the cliff in the direction of team eight's whereabouts and said "I need to get there as soon as possible. I may also need your help in battle. Though I doubt it." The frog nodded and bent lower to the ground so Jiraiya could easily climb onto his back. Jiraiya stepped on the frogs sword hilt and onto its back. The frog was wearing a sleeveless vest and bandages around his midsection with a sword hilt in the same manner as Gammabunta. Once on his back Jiraiya grabbed the collar of the vest and told the frog. "Ready for lift off." The frog edged closer to the edge of the cliff. Jiraiya communicated a mental picture into the frog's mind so it knew exactly where to go. Once the frog had the location in it's mind it set its feet and prepared to jump. Jiraiya grabbed the vest tighter and then the frog leaped off the edge of the cliff. It's powerful legs propelled it through the air at an amazing velocity. In one leap it was going to cover the distance of almost two miles. Jiraiya let out a yell of enjoyment.

Shino, Kiba, and Hinata had been following Jiraiyas trail for a while now. Always stopping to scout ahead to make sure there were no traps. Kiba had talked about his observation. "There haven't been any traps up to this point and more than likely the old geezer was to lazy to put them up." Hinata agreed with him, not the lazy part, that it was unlikely that Jiraiya had layed traps for them. However she did not voice this.

"It is always wise to see where you are going before you get there." Shino said. Kiba wanted to argue, but he didn't see the point. He was sure they were nearer to their target now. The smell was growing stronger very quickly. He was about to start walking again when he heard a yell. He asked Shino if he heard it but Shino shook his head. Kiba heard the yell keep going an was sure it was not his imagination. He looked around quickly and saw nothing. Maybe he was hearing things he thought. He heard the yell again and louder he looked up to see the source and saw an huge figure flying through the air directly to where they were standing.

He pointed up and yelled. "It's coming right at us!" Shino and Hinata followed his finger and saw what he was talking about immediately. They quickly ran back the way they had come to avoid being crushed. The frog landed directly in front of them with a deafening crash. From the top of the frog Jiraiya looked down at them. Good aim, he thought to himself.

Kiba was the first to raise his head and see Jiraiya. He quickly started yelling at him. "What the hell is your problem you old bastard! Are you trying to kill us or something." Hinata and Shino were getting up wondering the same thing. A deep rumbling laughter came from the frog.

"Are these the ones you said you might need help fighting Jiraiya-sama? You always were a joker." The frog continued laughing. It's giant belly rumbling as the laughter flowed out . A giant sweat drop was on all of the Team eight members foreheads.

Jiraiya saw this and leaned close to the frog and whispered to him. "You don't need to laugh so much, these guys are pretty good." The frog cleared it's throat and became serious once again looking down at his diminutive opponents. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino had never been faced with this kind of challenge, however they weren't about to back down now. They all took their fighting stance. Jiraiya saw this and let out a laugh. "You guys only have ten minutes left. Let's see if you can capture me." Jiraiya said. He then whispered to the frog. "Jump about five miles away I want to see how fast they reach us." The frog nodded and gathered himself. Team eight had no idea what the frog was going to do so they took a defensive stance. However the frog had other plans it pushed itself off the ground using all it's power this time and getting full extension. It jumped clear over them. Team eight was once again left to chase Jiraiya. Where the frog had been there were now it's footprints.

Kiba was totally pissed off. "This asshole is just toying with us." He yelled throwing punches at the air to try and release some steam. Hinata and Shino both looked at each other.

It seemed they had no need to really talk about this and Hinata was the one who told Kiba. "Umm...Kiba-kun, I really hate to tell you this, but seeing as how you got us into this without discussing it with us. We think it would be only fair that you pay for Jiraiya-sama's meals." Hinata said in a calm demeanor. Kiba's jaw dropped to the ground. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was about to protest when Hinata continued. "Demo, Kiba-kun, but if you had just waited we're sure we would not be in this situation. Jiraiya only wanted to test us and I'm sure he would have done so with or without the added incentive." Kiba's jaw dropped again.

Kiba was about to start pleading with Hinata when Shino walked past him and kept going. Hinata followed leaving Akamaru and Kiba standing there. "Let's go Kiba we only have a few more minutes before we finish this and can move on.

Jiraiya landed close to five miles away. His hair was more messed up than usual and he was a little disgruntled. "I wasn't ready yet you crazy toad." He slid of the frog and when he got down on the ground he patted his companion and said. "Thanks for the ride. I'll wait for them here now." The frog bowed his head and disappeared in a giant cloud of smoke. Jiraiya checked the time and looked around him. He knew they weren't going to make it so he set down his scroll and took out his pack. He started setting up camp for them so they could eat. He had some sushi he hoped they would enjoy. No more ramen for him now that he was away from Naruto. Three years of seeing Naruto eat nothing but ramen was enough for him. He shook his head shaking off the memories. Once the dishes were set and he felt comfortable with the setup he sat on his scroll and took out his notes. He planned to talk with them about their evaluation after they ate.

Jiraiya was finishing up arranging his notes when Kiba walked towards him and started yelling at him. "I'm not paying jack. That deal was unfair you had no right to do that you bastard. So I am not going to pay." Hinata and Shino had caught up with their team mate and they were both looking down at the food. They looked at Jiraiya who was holding a large jug in his hands and was looking at Kiba with a baffled expression which quickly disappeared as a glint of anger appeared in his eyes.

Jiraiya put down the jug and got up crossing his arms. "Look here boy. A deal is a deal and if you don't pay your team mates will." Jiraya saw they were both shaking their heads behind Kiba. "If you're a real man you would accept you're loss and take responsibility. I did not make you take the bet, you chose to do so." Jiraiya saw Kiba was still looking pissed off. "If you don't want to do so then you can leave. If you do though your team fails the mission. I will not travel with someone that is dishonorable. Think it over. I expect an answer before we leave." Jiraiya saw no point in making a big deal out of it so he sat down and took out sushi plates. He motioned for Hinata and Shino to join him. Kiba was still pouting so he didn't see this. Instead he walked away with Akamaru. Jiraiya saw this and before they were to far away he called out. "Hey Akamaru." Akamaru turned around. His belly growling as he did so and Jiraiya tossed a large piece of a sushi roll to him. Akamaru grabbed it out of the air and then continued to follow a skulking Kiba. He then told Shino and Hinata to help themselves to the variety of sushi he had laid out for them. Hinata asked for chop sticks which he promptly handed her while Shino used his hands. Like a real man would Jiraiya thought to himself. During the first part of the meal they ate in silence. Kiba came back after a while as well and joined them without saying a word. Jiraiya finished his meal pretty quickly and told them a little bit about their mission. "We will travel near the village of the mist for this mission. There shouldn't be any problems and I'll give you more details as we get closer. Let me know when you are ready to leave we have a long journey ahead of us. We can cover a good distance before nightfall." As they ate he decided against going over his notes with them after the meal. He reasoned it would be better to wait until they were away from the village. He now planned to do it individually. Once he saw they finished eating he asked his question to Kiba. "So will you pay or do you three fail this mission?" He asked waiting for his answer, he had not been playing about leaving them behind.

Kiba had hoped not to be called out like this, but the teams mission had to be completed. He hung his head and sullenly said. "Yeah, I, we'll pay." Shino and Hinata wanted to correct them, but they stopped themselves. Now was not the time.

Shino looked at Jiraiya and asked his question very interested in the reply. "So what did you come away with as far as evaluating us?" Hinata and Kiba both now focused on Jiraiya also curious.

Jiraiya didn't feel like going into such a long discussion so he generalized it. "I see there is a good order within the group. I liked when you came together to decide your next move. Even though you Shino took it upon yourself to try and find me before you went to Hinata. Nothing wrong with that, over all though I hope I have a very accurate assessment of your skills. On our journey I will discuss my findings with each of you individually and we can work together to strengthen our abilities." Shino was shocked he had no idea Jiraiya had monitored them so easily. It was then that Jiraiya's level of skill hit him. All that chakra expended all those techniques and yet this guy hadn't even broken a sweat. He gave them all a challenge and watched as it unfolded. Kiba and Hinata were both impressed as well, but they did not share Shino's appreciation for what they had witnessed.

Hinata also asked a question. "Jiraiya-sama... about your clones. I hit the clone yet it did not disappear Naruto's always disappeared when hit hard enough. Are you using the same technique?" She asked. Kiba also noted this because he had sunk his teeth into a clone with no result. He had not paid attention at the time, but now that he looked at it, it was curious.

Jiraiya smiled at the question. So they finally appreciate my skills he thought and then went on to explain. "Yes, it is the same technique that Naruto used. However you have to take into account that Naruto's technique was not the true technique. Remember, this is after all a forbidden technique and not many know it. You all are lucky to have seen it. Naruto taught himself from a scroll so of course he missed some details of it, but now I have shown him the technique and I'll tell you why it's forbidden. In it's true form the clone can only disappear if the creator stops feeding it chakra. So the only one present who could stand a chance at beating my clone is Shino with his bugs." Jiraiya had puffed up as he explained it hoping they understood. He waited for the question he knew was coming.

Kiba was the one who asked it eagerly. "Can you teach us?"

Jiraiya considered it for a moment and then replied. "I'll think about it. If I did teach you three I would be in trouble because it is a forbidden technique. I was only able to teach Naruto because he was already familiar with it." Kiba and Hinata looked a little disappointed. "Don't worry though there are a lot of other techniques I can teach you all." He said. He got up and said "It's time we should start moving. Like I said I want to cover some ground before nightfall." With that they all began preparing for their journey and after a little while were on their way.

Out in the desert Hirai had gone down to check on Kankarou once again. She asked the siblings if there was any new developments to which Chiyo responded. "Yes, we identified one of the ingredients used in the poison and were able to neutralize it. So we managed to slow it down a little bit and put him to sleep to buy us some more time." She took a deep sigh after saying this. "Alas we may not be able to buy enough time. We will keep working, but don't expect much." Chiyo finished. Hirai nodded her head and backed out of the room. She planned to return to her spot and sleep up there.

Gai and his team were making their way to the village of sand as quickly as they could. On the way there Rock Lee turned to Neji and asked about something that had been bugging him. "Neji-san, back at the hokage's office you seemed to recognize these seals that are a part of our mission. Could you tell us anything about it." Tenten and Gai shifted closer so they could hear Neji as they traveled.

Neji was familiar with seals so he did not find it difficult to explain."It's no secret that I am very interested in seals and I've spent much time in the Hyugaa's library researching them. The seals we are carrying I've only seen once in one book and these are not exactly the same so I don't know all the purposes they serve. However they are no doubt power suppressors of a magnitude I never thought would be necessary. In addition to that they are binding seals so if or when we use them on Naruto they will bind him. The last purpose I recognized is a strengthening seal however I didn't recognize what it was supposed to strengthen and there is also another purpose that I think is a healing seal. Again, I don't know the full purpose of the seals myself, but these seals are powerful enough that if used on a regular ninja they might paralyze them." Neji said. They all went on in silence for a while, while the information sank in.

After a little while though Gai said "We should set up camp soon so we can rest before we continued." His team nodded in agreement. "We still have some daylight to burn though so let's make the most of it."

On the same path, but much further ahead and a couple of hours later were team seven and Temari. Both Temari and Naruto were still going full speed. Sakura was having a little trouble keeping up with them. Not because of speed, but because of endurance. She had noted an urgency in Temari and Naruto that had not gone away and they hadn't slowed their pace or taken breaks. Kakashi was traveling next to her conserving his energy. "That Naruto has incredible stamina. I wonder if Temari's getting any help from adrenaline or if it's her natural conditioning. If it is then she too has incredible stamina." He looked at Sakura and seemed to smile. "It's a good thing we're going to have to take a break soon. We can't keep going like this through the night." He said. Sakura didn't respond she just nodded her head in agreement.

However inner Sakura was not okay with the situation at all. She was yelling at the top of her lungs. "What is wrong with you people. Have mercy on my lungs. Take a break already!" Sakura wasn't about to give in to inner Sakura's wishes though. After all the time she had spent training as well she was not just about to be dead weight on the team anymore. She thought back to all the times she was unable to help Naruto and Sasuke and that helped he push through it. She wanted to prove she was a part of the team. That she didn't need them taking care of her all the time and having to rescue her. She saw Naruto had grown so much in his time away and she hoped that after this mission Naruto would see her in the same way.

Kakashi's words broke into her thoughts. "I think it's time I go ahead and convince those two we have to stop for the night." He looked at her and asked. "Do you want to join me or stay back here while I talk with them."

Sakura thought this through and decided to wait. "I'll stay here." She said between breaths. With that Kakashi picked up his pace and made to catch up with Temari and Naruto.

**REVIEWS**

Next chapter. Dreams. That's all, let it simmer. Hehe. Til, next update.

**RSO**

dragonman180- How you like that I answered that question in this ch. lol. About your second question, no, Jiraiya is not one of the seven swordsmen. What I meant is that they are going to have dealing's with one on their mission. Hint hint.

crakbaby- Thanx I'll do my best.

thoushaltkill- Sorry, no Ino/Naru I know there's alot of Naru/Hina stories, but they are just the bomb. I hope to make this story good enough for everyone to consider it more than just a Naru/Hina story.

Trolly- Thanks for the review. Ummm... did you mean update soon. I don't know what you meant by review SON.

danny- Thanx for letting me know you don't like Ino/Shino, but I just don't know who else Ino should get with. Sorry Shika is already taken. I know Kankarou was poisoned a long time ago CH-wise but in Naruto time a day hasn't passed yet since he returned to the village. He'll recover tommorrow. Lol I don't know how many ch's it'll be til' tomorrow though. Oh you'll like the next ch. I think.

acrazygirlofmanynames- I might add Sasuke in the distant future. He's not in the story yet. Glad you enjoyed though oh and thanx for reviewing.

Snakeeyes12- No problem. Naruto can access 4 of the 9 tails of Kyubi. Each tail releases more of the Kyubi's chakra so when he accesses 4 tails he's wielding an incredible amount of power. So if he's not careful he can loose control of that power. I'll get more into this in later chapters, but hopefully this helps a little bit. The seals are like well I tried to explain a little bit in this chapter, but they are kind of like the seal on Neji's head, except much more powerful. I will go into more details on these later on two. Hope that helped. Can't tell you everything here, lol.


	20. Chapter 20

Hey, everybody. Well, I know this has been a long time coming, but I've been dealing with personal stuff, (plus the comp. died on me for a while) everythings better now though. I decided to take a little detour while I get back into the story, I am a little nervous because I've never really done romantic scenes. Tell me what you all think. Well, hope everybody enjoys.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form but if I did this is how it would go.

**GOOD NIGHT**

Night was starting to fall on the world. In a lonely corner of the world we find Hirai looking out at the darkening sky. Hirai was in her secret place hoping Temari would return soon. She took out a blanket she had stashed there earlier and spread it out on the floor. She bit her thumb bringing out a little bit of blood and formed a few quick seals. A puff of smoke appeared and cleared to reveal a small ferret. The ferret had smooth shiny light brown fur and a long thick tail with longer fur making it look puffier. Her snout was black, so was her tail and the area around her face. Her most striking feature though and one of the reasons Hirai liked her so much were her eyes. That had a thin golden ring around the edges and darkened to brown and black pupils. The ferret looked around itself and then sat on it's hind legs it began licking it's fur and in a small voice said "Hi Hirai." Hirai beamed at this. The ferret was still very young and was learning to speak and even though she didn't say this perfectly Hirai understood and it pleased her. Hirai bent down and scooped up the little animal that only came up to her knees in height and embraced her.

"Hello Marie." Hirai said. Marie repeated her greetings again, a little bit clearer this time. Hirai sat down Indian style and the ferret ran up her arm and around her back to her other shoulder where she seemed to find some comfort. Hirai asked "Did you follow them to their hiding place?" The ferret nodded her head and tapped Hirai's shoulder to indicate the affirmative. Hirai was pleased and asked her next question. "Were you seen?" Marie shook her head and tapped Hirai's neck to indicate the negative. Hirai was glad and told Marie her intent. "If help does not arrive by tomorrow at this time I want you to lead me there." Marie did not know the reason why but she nodded the affirmative and tapped Hirai's shoulder. Hirai began to lean back and Marie jumped off to let her lie down. She then scampered on to her belly and curled herself in a ball. Hirai saw this and asked "Are you going to keep me company tonight?"

Marie lifted her head and said "Hi." She let out a yawn right afterwards and put her head down again.

Hirai smiled and corrected her. "It's hai Marie. Ha..e." She looked down at Marie and saw her little friend had already fallen asleep. "It's okay Marie you'll get it soon. Let's hope it doesn't rain tonight. Sweet dreams Marie." Hirai put her arms behind her head to sleep and closed her eyes wondering where Temari might be and when she would be back.

About six hours away near where the desert met with forest a group was settling in for the night. Among that group was Temari. She had been convinced by Kakashi to turn in for the night. She had wanted to keep going and try to reach the village in one go. She was not happy, but she had to concede to Kakashi's reasoning. If they got there at the pace they were going there was no telling if they could accomplish what they wanted to do. They had no information on the enemy, so they had no knowledge of what would be asked of them. They hadn't really discussed the mission in any regards and had eaten in silence. During the meal she remembered Naruto vividly, she did not understand why Naruto was so quick to want to aid Gaara and when Kakashi was talking about slowing down she saw him catch his frustration. There had definetely been intense emotion on his face and she saw him swallow whatever words he was going to say. Even now she looked in his direction and wondered about the young shinobi. She set out her sleeping bag and prepared to rest letting her mind wonder where ever it might. By the time her eyes were about to close she was thinking about Shikamaru.

Temari had chosen a spot separated from the others so she was not really aware of any discussions if any were going on with Kakashi and his group. Team seven was also preparing to sleep and Kakashi just went over basic rules of the mission before bidding them good night. Sakura gathered her belongings and moved closer to Temari. Even though Naruto and Kakashi were her team mates she was still a girl and felt more comfortable in the company of another girl. However when she found Temari she was already asleep. Sakura was a little disappointed she had wanted to talk to Temari and try to learn more about her and her village. She was here now though so she set out her sleeping bag and got ready to sleep. She whispered to Temari. "Goodnight." Even though she didn't hear it Sakura said it more for herself than for Temari.

Kakashi and Naruto prepared to sleep as well. Naruto took of his jacket underneath he was wearing a black sleeveless t-shirt. That was not what caught Kakashi's attention though. Naruto was also wearing weights around his wrist they were not as big as the ones that Rock Lee wore, nevertheless they peaked his interest. He voiced his curiosity. "Naruto, did Jiraiya make you wear those things?"

Naruto who had been deep in thought came out of reverie quickly at this question. A smile of pride spread out on his face as he turned around to look at Kakashi and answer his question. "Actually it was my idea. Sensei thought it was primitive, but he didn't put up much argument. I got the idea from Rock Lee, but Jiraiya-sensei helped me get accustomed to them." He threw a series of quick punches to demonstrate his point. He then crossed his arms and smiled widely, he was really proud of his training.

Kakashi didn't know wether to be impressed considering where Naruto had gotten the idea, but he took the opportunity to squeeze some knowledge out of him. "Doesn't it slow you down, can you tell me some more about your training with those weights. I mean not what you did, but the benefits." Kakashi asked.

Naruto was pleased with Kakashis interest, he put his hand to his chin in a thinking position as he combed his mind to respond. "Jiraiya said that it is good training because while the weight slows down my movements somewhat the weight compensates on impact so I just have to land the punch." He once again threw punches to get his point across.

Kakashi felt a sweat drop on his forehead, but figured it was a good enough explanation. "I see. Good night Naruto we should reach the village before noon tomorrow so get your rest." Kakashi said. Naruto nodded and continued to get ready for sleep. He took off the weights and laid them down next to his backpack. He picked up his jacket and went to sit down on his sleeping bag. He reached under his shirt and took off the customized belt Jiraiya had gotten for him. Kakashi did not see this because he was already asleep, but if he had seen it he would have been impressed with the belt as well. He began his evening ritual he reached behind his neck and unclasped Tsunades necklace he grabbed the stone with his fingers and put it to his forehead he re-newed his nightly vow.

"One day I will be Hokage and this necklace will return to it's original prestige. Thank you Tsunade-sama." Naruto said, he then brought the necklace to his lips and put it in his jackets pocket. He reached towards the back of his neck again and unclasped the necklace given to him by Hinata. He held it in his hand in front of his face and admired the craftsmanship. His mind began wondering and he wondered where Hinata was at that moment. She was the first person to give him something so willingly, even though she was a little weird he thought that was cool. He didn't have a ritual for this necklace, but he thought he could work something out. For the meantime though a kiss would have to do. He brought the necklace to his lips and then he put it in his jacket pocket with Tsunades. He then got in his sleeping bag and was asleep within seconds.

Deep in the forest near Konoha Jiraiya and his group were also preparing to sleep. Hinata who was also sleeping a little ways away from the guys felt a burning sensation in her ears. She clapped her hands over her ears and rubbed them. They had never burned like that before, she wondered what that could possibly mean. She started thinking that maybe somebody might be thinking about her, but quickly vanished that thought from her mind. Nobody gave her any thought and she didn't want to get her hopes up. She wouldn't ever find out who it was anyways. She decided she would be better off getting to sleep. She turned on her byakugaan and looked around to make sure nobody was peeking and when she saw that everything was normal she took off her jacket. Underneath she wore a long sleeved fish net shirt, underneath that she wore a black sports bra. She spread her sleeping bag and lay down to sleep. After a while it seemed like she fell asleep, but she kept on tossing and turning unable to become comfortable. Hinata lay still for awhile her eyes wide open she had to many thoughts on her mind and her body was not as tired as she must have thought. She closed her eyes again and tried to sleep, but without any success. Finally she gave up and sat up in her sleeping bag. She put her hands together and thought about what she could do. She knew she needed to get to sleep somehow otherwise she would be drifting all day tomorrow. She couldn't wear herself out either though so she came to the solution that maybe she should take a walk and try to clear her thoughts. She got up and acted on her plan.

She had been walking for about half an hour when she came upon a lake. She looked at the reflection on the water and noticed that it was a full moon tonight. She couldn't believe she had been so caught up in her thoughts she hadn't noticed. She looked around and decided to sit down and enjoy the view of the lake. Maybe that would calm her mind. She chose a spot near the lake and sat down she pulled up her knees and rested her elbows on them. She then put her head in her arms and looked out on the lake. She had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly a pair of hands reached from behind her and covered her eyes. She felt like a wave of static electricity combed through her head upon contact. A voice from behind her said in a fake deep voice. "Guess who."

Hinata knew of only one person's touch that could affect her like that, but there was no way he could be there. She struggled in her mind to make sense of the situation. Regardless of the turmoil in her mind her body instinctively answered. "N-N-Naruto-kun." Hinata felt like her mind was about to explode as she began wondering if this was some kind of jutsu that was being used on her.

What she did not expect was for the hands to break contact a lift away from her face and the confused voice of Naruto asking. "Wow, how did you know it was me Hinata-chan?" Naruto scratched his head and took a seat next to Hinata completely unaware that she was too shocked by his appearance to answer. Naruto looked around and then his eyes landed on Hinata for a second. She had been totally shocked by his appearance, but when he looked directly at her it shook her from her paralysis. Naruto looked out onto the lake and asked her another question. "So, what are you doing out here?" This time he waited for her to answer.

"I-I couldn't sleep, I thought a walk would help me clear my mind." She didn't know if that was a good enough answer, but before she could stammer out a good elaboration a question shot through her mind and she immediately voiced it. "Ano, Naruto-kun what are you d-doing here?" She asked with sudden curiosity. She looked at Naruto's face waiting for an answered. She loved the way the moon lit up his face and the way his lips now started to form a smile and turned towards her.

Naruto reached a hand out towards her and she turned beat red he tapped the bell that was hanging on her ear. "I came back for this Hinata-chan. I said I would repay your kindness so you could give this back to me and here I am." He pulled his hand back and looked deep into her eyes and asked his next question with seriousness Hinata had not expected. "I am at your disposal Hinata, what would you have me do?"

Hinata was loosing herself in his eyes never had she seen eyes so blue. Eyes that seemed to hold the secrets to her universe. She heard his question as if from across a deep chasm and looked away from him breaking the hold his eyes had on her. She thought about his question and the one thing that came to her mind she could not voice. She knew how stupid it would be if she asked him to propose to her. As she thought about this her drowsiness came to the forefront of her mind. A thought formed in her mind, looking at Naruto her thought felt perfect. Until she voiced it, she looked up and once again met Naruto's intense gaze. "C-could I use you as a bed Naruto. Maybe that would help me sleep." As soon as the words for it were out of her mouth she started regretting her request. She saw the confusion spreading on Naruto's face and was about to start apologizing when Naruto cut her off.

"Ok, no problem. I can be a bed, I've never done that before. Do I just lie down and you use me as a mattress or what do I do?" Naruto said, he thought she would ask something extremely difficult. He had been confused at first, but her request didn't seem to hard. Maybe he thought it would be hard because he valued the bell so highly and she didn't know what it meant to him. He was happy to oblige her wish though.

Hinata who had expecting him to mock her for being weird was shocked by his response. It took her a few moments to get her wits about her. Him looking at her so intensely didn't help matters at all. "Ano, you don't have to lie down. J-j-just stay where you are." She said, she got up wondering if she had died. She moved closer to Naruto and said "If you could just straighten out your legs I think that would be good enough." Naruto did as she asked and she lay down next to him. She placed her head on his lap and wondered if this was what heaven felt like.

Naruto looked down at her and wondered if she was comfortable. He thought about the situation and thought he had a better idea. "Hinata-chan ano I was thinking..." Hinata knew it was to good to be true he was going to tell her how ridiculous this was, but instead he said. "We should get in a more comfortable position, I would hate it if your head rolled off my lap while we slept. I would not have earned by bell back if you didn't sleep well." He said. Hinata was once again shocked. She lifted her head to look up at him and saw he was being serious she got up so he could show her what he meant. Naruto got up and took her hand and started leading her. She felt her hand start to burn sending shock waves of pleasure through her nervous system. She followed him to a tree and he let go of her hand. She immediately started missing it. Naruto took off his jacket and Hinata wondered what he was going to do that thought was quickly followed by, oh, he looks good in a white t-shirt. She always wondered what was under the jacket. She no longer thought he would mock her or reject her anymore, now she was only curious. "Hinata, sit down in front of that tree. Not against it, maybe a foot or so in front of it." Naruto said.

"Hai." Hinata replied she did as he asked and when she was comfortable she started toying with her fingers and blushing madly. She did not look up at Naruto when she asked her question. "Is this ok?"

"Perfect." Naruto said. He kicked a leg behind her and positioned himself between her and the tree. He then slid down so that he was sitting right behind her. Hinata had gone stiff as a board as she saw what he was doing. Explosions were going off in her head she wanted to run away, but before she had a chance to do anything Naruto's arms reached around her in a soft embrace and pulled her back towards him so that she was lying against his chest. Naruto asked. "Does this feel more comfortable?" Hinata was to shocked to speak, her body felt like it was electrically charged. She couldn't respond, it felt as if her voice had left her all she could do was make a tiny nod. Hinata felt as if all the electricity in her body was converging in her chest and when she thought she could no longer take it. The wave of static broke, a new sensation washed over her. It was like a warm wave of calm spreading through her. Her mind finally cleared and the first thought going through her mind was. 'That must have been what they mean when they say sparks fly' she let herself relax and let her body loosen against Naruto. Naruto saw that she was relaxed and comfortable so he decided to grab his jacket and gently put in on her using it like a blanket. Hinata knew she could fall asleep in this position and be happy to never wake up. She didn't know why Naruto was being so perfect, but she wasn't about to complain. She felt fully relaxed and put her arms over Naruto's which had wrapped themselves around her stomach she put her head down and closed her eyes thinking she didn't really want to sleep. Naruto's voice broke through her thoughts and completely shattered what she was thinking with the following words. "Umm...Hinata-ch-chan I was wondering. Ano, would you." Oh Hinata was ecstatic that Naruto was stammering, she didn't exactly know why, but she was. Naruto cleared his throat and asked his question. "Would you like a- a goodnight kiss?" He finished almost mumbling.

Hinata forgot all about her comfort and went totally rigid. Only a confused "huh!" escaping her lips.

Naruto thinking the huh was a hai broke his embrace and lifted his hand to her chin and turned her face towards his. He was extremely nervous, but had wanted to do this since he had seen her for the first time. Hinata looked into his eyes and felt as if they were looking into her soul stripping away every event of her life to see what she was at her very core. She had never experienced such a sensation and closed her eyes thinking that would somehow save her. The next thing she felt was an explosion on her lips the first touch felt like jalapenos burning her lips, that sensation quickly passed replaced by moist warmth and a taste so exotic on her lips she felt that all the good food she had ever eaten were only in preparation for her to be able to handle this. All of her thoughts were forgotten as she felt she was in a cloud or at least that's what she visualized behind her closed eyes. Sadly though the experience was over almost as quickly as it had begun and where Naruto's lips had touched was now an emptiness. Hinata's eyes shot open to see Naruto's smiling face pulling away. He didn't open his eyes, he seemed to lie back and be asleep. Hinata no longer knowing what to do put her head down and touched her fingers to her lips. She closed her eyes and as she drifted off to sleep she thought. 'This has to be what love feels like. If there were any stronger experience than what I just experienced, it would kill me'. She let out a sigh and finished her thought. 'If I were to die that way it would be worth it.' Those were her last thoughts before she drifted off to sleep in Naruto's embrace.

**PREVIEW**

Naruto and team finally make it to the village, Jiraiya and his team begin their journey. Umm, how do they say less is more. Hahaha.

**RSO**

Dragonman180- Jiraiya is going to be cooler. Somehow I will make it so. Yeah, poor Akamaru, at least he doesn't have to split the bill with Kiba. Oh yeah, that will hopefully be awesome. umm... I mean... you never know.

crakbaby-good idea I never really thought about that, but your right they can be annoying huh.

a crazy girl of many names- Thanx.

serenepanda- Wow, long time no see I thought you had quit reading my story. Hehe, guess my grammar and speelling have become the bestest. Hmm, point duly noted though.

danny- I dunno I think I'll pair her with Kiba, that pairing seems to be in more demand, even though you do make a good point. Oh, I hope I their individual evaluations are good too. I'll try to make them as accurate as I can. Wish me luck.

snakeeye12- No problem, your wish might come true. Kinda. I kinda had to make Hinata tell him, I just couldn't picture Shino doing it and I think it was easier for Kiba to take from Hinata. I hope that made sense. Oh, I'm sure she'll find plenty of reasons to reach new levels of pissed off in the coming chapters. I am not alone, thank you. NaruHina rock. lol.

warprince- I can't wait either. J/K thanx for the review.


	21. Chapter 21

Well, after some time off I am getting back into the swing of things. I hope everybody enjoys this chapter. I re-read this chapter and it seems to me that the story is about to start picking up its pace. lol I hope I don't disappoint.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**ARRIVAL AT THE VILLAGE OF SAND**

The sun arose and Naruto and Kakashi were already up. Incredibly Naruto had been the first one up and was almost ready when Kakashi awoke. Temari had also awoken around the same time as Naruto. She had quickly readied and woke up Sakura. Sakura slowly got up and began preparing. Once the everyone was ready they met where they had broken camp the previous night. When everybody was together Naruto let out a giant yawn and violently shook his head as if shaking off the last little bits of sleep. The rest of the group stared at this unusual ritual and Kakashi let out a short chuckle. "Is everybody ready? We have only a few hours to get to the village so now that we're rested we should be there quickly and proceed from there." Kakashi thought about it thinking if he had forgotten anything.

Naruto blurted out before Kakashi continued. "Kakashi-san we're not stupid we're ready to go. Let's get going and figure everything out when we get to it." Kakashi was totally taken aback, but before he could respond Temari also chimed in.

She stepped forward past Kakashi and Naruto "I agree with Naruto. Let's go." Temari said. Temari did not wait for a response she started running and yelled back at them. "No plan ever works if you don't make it in time!" Naruto followed her lead and ran after her. Kakashi and Sakura looked at each other and saw no point in standing around they too followed Temari. It was now only a matter of hours before they reached the village of sand.

Near Konoha Shino was the first one to awaken. He saw no hurry in the situation to wake everybody up so he decided to get some exercises done and allow his insects some freedom to roam around. His mind was occupied with the mission ahead of them. He could not shake his suspicion that something was amiss. There was no reason for them to really accompany such an accomplished shinobi. Shino knew there was huge differences between power and capabilities between ninjas, but the chasm that existed between them begged the question of why they were really on the mission. He knew it was a wasteful thought but throughout his exercises he could not get it out of his mind. He continued exercising also wondering how long it would be before his team mates got up.

Hinata woke up in a complete state of confusion and looked around herself. She didn't know where Naruto was and she reached up to her ear and realized that she was not wearing the bell she had been wearing when Naruto found her. She felt bad, she was thinking that Naruto had abandoned her when the realization that it was a dream came to her. She did not know which felt worse the dream had felt so real she wished she hadn't woken up. She let out a long sigh and thought about it. She had never had such an intense dream and was torn emotionally. She wanted to have dreams like that with Naruto every night, but she didn't want to face the waking disappointments. She put it out of her mind as she knew she had no control of the situation if she had the dreams she would have to endure them and go on. It wouldn't be so bad she thought. As a matter of fact this dream had given her an idea and she would act upon it at the next town she came to. With that thought she got up and began to go through her morning ritual. She dressed herself and took care of her hygiene she then meditated for about fifteen minutes to clear her mind and got ready to warm up for the day. When she finished warming up she took a stroll and looked around heradmiring the flowers. They were all very beautiful and she had to resist the urge to begin gathering them. She smiled at this and went to find her team mates. She found Shino easily enough and he led the way to where the others were. They came upon Jiraiya pouring over what appeared to be maps. He looked up at their arrival though and smiled. "So are we ready to head out. I've scouted out the way we're going to take and it looks like easy going for a while. We won't make it to a town until tomorrow, but that's fine we should have plenty of supplies until then." Shino and Hinata didn't admit it out loud, but they were impressed that Jiraiya had their journey planned out so well in advance. "We should wake..." Before Jiraiya could finish a loud snore came from Kiba. They turned to see him still asleep with Akamaru standing guard over him.

When Akamaru saw they were walking towards him he leaned towards Kiba and nudged him with his nose. Kiba stirred and spoke in his sleep. "Hinata..we shouldn't we're team mates." He said in a mischievous manner and laughed. Hinata blushed furiously and moved behind Shino trying to avoid embarassment. Jiraiya's eyes twitched and he shot a very quick glance at Hinata. He let out a quick chuckle making Hinata blush even harder and took our his water jug. Shino thought Jiraiya was going to pour water on Kiba to wake him up. He was wrong. Jiraiya cocked back his arm and aimed the water jug at Kiba's head and threw it. Akamaru however saw this and leaped forward to protect Kiba. He caught the jug, but in the process jumped on top of Kiba and trampled him. Effectively making Kiba wake up screaming. "Aaaggghhh. Akamaru why are jumping all over me like that!" Akamaru quickly jumped off Kiba and bowed his head in an apologetic gesture.

Jiraiya spoke up for Akamaru though. "We were just trying to wake you up, brat. Your friend there was only trying to help. Now that you're up let's get ready to get moving." He said and turned around to get his things together leaving Kiba with his mouth open. Kiba was too groggy to be outraged this early in the morning, but he would remember this. Of this they could be sure. With everyone now awake they prepared for the journey ahead of them.

Out in the village of the sand Hirai was standing watch at her tower. With her keen eyesight she saw a tiny break in the desert horizon. She got her telescope and looked through it in the direction of the break. Thinking how weird it was that the break happened to be in her field of vision. However when she looked through the lens of the telescope and saw people accompanying Temari her spirits immediately lifted. She dropped back into a sitting position letting relief wash over her. Marie climbed her knee and looked at Hirai with curious eyes. Hirai noticed this and said. "It seems we can finally start doing something soon. Gaara will be back with us soon Marie. You don't have to worry so much." Hirai said and let out a weak laugh. She gathered her thoughts and had Marie climb onto her shoulder. "We have to go meet them and escort them back to Akamarou. You ready." Marie nodded and tapped Hirai's shoulder indicating she was ready. They quickly made their way down to the ground and began running to the edge of town to greet Temari and whoever was with her.

Temari ran over the sand dunes and finally her village came into her field of vision. She kept going at her speed finally knowing that with each step she was getting closer. Right behind her Naruto was keeping pace. He also saw the village and he wondered what the situation there would be like. He had never come here before and tensed a little bit preparing himself for whatever problems lay ahead. Behind them came Kakashi, he was thinking about how to go about with the mission already breaking down the questions he would need answered to proceed. He knew they would not have much information on the enemy, but he could not worry about that too much. He could only worry about the task at hand and carry it out as efficiently as possible. Bringing up the rear was Sakura. She looked at her team and was almost awed at how much they had all changed. She had practiced and improved herself as much as she could and seeing that she was still not on par with everybody made her question how hard she had really trained. She tried to shake her confidence, but seeing the ease everybody had traveling at this speed wouldn't let her. She had to believe she would play a part in this mission and not be useless. These were the thoughts occupying our heroes minds as they finally made their way to the village of sand.

Hirai was at the entrance of the village. She had been waiting for about half an hour after she got there before she saw the cloud of dust and the four dots in the distance creating it. She had sent messengers to announce Temaris arrival and now that she was here Hirai went out to greet them and lead them to Kankarou as quick as she could. About half a mile before she met them she stopped and started running back towards the village. In her excitement she had not fully noted the speed at which they were traveling and had she kept going then they would have completely passed her up. She was stunned at how quickly they had caught up to her. Before she knew it Temari was a few strides in front of her making Hirai run even faster to keep up with her. Her companion was easily keeping up with Temari and there were two others following closely behind. Temari asked Hirai "What's the situation?" Without breaking stride or turning to look at her.

Hirai wanted to slow down to answer, but she tried her best to answer. "Kankarou's...poisoned...follow ... me." Hirai said between breaths. Temari's eyes widened a little bit at the news of Kankarou, but that explained why Hirai and not Kankarou had gone out to greet them. The entrance to the village was cleared and a path was visible in the village. Hirai was running as fast as she could barely able to stay half a step ahead of Temari. Naruto looked at the path and knew that they were expected. Kakashi and Sakura both had come to this realization. They were impressed by the villages coordination. They had little time to admire though because they were blazing through the streets. Nor could they appreciate the scenery before they knew it the Kazekages building was coming into view and the doors were opening for them. They rushed through them and were running through the buildings halls. They finally slowed down and came to a stop at Hirai's gesture. Naruto resisted his impulse to yell out his question of why they had stopped. Hirai quickly tried to catch her breath but it hitched nonetheless when she spoke. "Kankarou is behind...these doors with the siblings." Temari nodded and turned away from her.

She looked at Sakura and beckoned her forward. "Kankarou's been poisoned, please do your best to help him." Sakura nodded and followed Temari as she stepped through the door and led her in towards Kankarou. Hirai looked at Sakura with wonderment. So this lady will be able to help Kankarou she thought. How can that be not even the siblings could find a way to help him. She wanted to tell Temari this, but before she could move forward to voice her thoughts the two companions blocked her path and stood there for a few moments.

Temari led Sakura to Kankarou and the Siblings who were still standing there. "We've done all we can. We are sorry." Chiyo said as Temari approached. Her eyes found Sakura quickly enough and her tone quickly hardened. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" Chiyo asked.

Sakura answered as she walked past her not taking mind of the old woman's tone. "Sakura. Helping." She said and went to check on Kankarou. Sakura slung off her pack and put it down. She was finally catching her breath. As she did this though she began to examine Kankarou as quickly as possible. The fact that he did not wake up when they entered told her he had been put to sleep checking his pulse quickly told her that much. It must be some sort of poison traveling through his veins she thought. "What symptoms has he shown?" Sakura asked the siblings.

Chiyo did not like this girls attitude. "They're right there on the tablet in front of you." She replied. Chiyo did not like relations with Konoha. Correction, Chiyo did not like other villages much period. This outsider much less. She reminded her of another medic ninja she had met a long time ago. However she saw no point in wasting any more time here. She turned to leave and her eyes widened as they landed on the scene at the door. Standing there was the person that had killed her family.

Kakashi had finished telling Naruto that he should be ready for everything and they walked throught the doors when a loud yell broke out. "The White Fang of Konoha. I'll have my revenge now!" Chiyo launched herself at Kakashi pulling out a Kunnai and fully intending to take his life with a speed nobody would expect from someone so old. Temari and Sakura turned but were to late to do anything Temari placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder a gesture that she stay and tend to Kankarou. Temari went after the old woman. She knew she would not be able to catch her though. Kakashi had been shocked when he heard that name and by the time he began to react Chiyo was almost upon him. Kunnai hand already shooting forward to take Kakashi's life.

Naruto heard the yell and saw the old woman lunge. He looked at Kakashi and saw he wasn't reacting, No thought went through his head his body moved on it's own. Even though Chiyo had already started to strike Naruto shifted his body in front of Kakashi and with his leading hand blocked the strike. He pushed the knife hand away from the body twisting it as he did so so he would grip it. Even before that was done he had brought a Kunnai of his own up with his other hand and had it to Chiyo's neck before she could counter. Even though Chiyo had been stopped her gaze was still on Kakashi. A voice cold as a cave in the arctic dropped words into her ears like falling ice stalagmites. "If you value your life, step back." Naruto said, his voice was as hard as the steel kunnai he was pressing into her neck. Temari finally reached them and gently pulled Chiyo back. Chiyo allowed herself to be pulled back. Right behind Naruto Kakashi was stunned. He wondered about his former student. Would he have taken this woman's life? Right behind that was the question of who was this woman and how did she know about his father. Kakashi was troubled already and they hadn't even started the mission. Kakashi pushed these thoughts out of his mind and composed himself. Behind him Hirai was still stunned, the boy in front of her moved with a speed she did not think was possible. His body moved as fast as her punch and her mind began filling with questions. Her mouth was slightly open, but other than that her appearance did not give away her thoughts.

Temari spoke to Chiyo. "Chiyo-sama, this is Kakashi. He isn't this White Fang you speak of. He's here to help." Temari said as calmly as she could. Even she was still composing herself after the previous events. Chiyo's eyes finally softened somewhat and she turned.

Gruffly she said. "I know he's not the White Fang, now. His eyes are different." Without apologies she went back to where Sakura was tending to Kankarou. Temari followed looking back at Naruto and Kakashi and shrugged her shoulders as if to say she didn't know what had happened either.

Naruto and the others were about to follow when another voice spoke from behind them. "You can't really blame her, Kakashi-san does look like his father I would assume. She has good reason to hate the White Fang...what you all act as if you've seen a ghost." Ebizou said. They had all jumped when he spoke and were now looking at him in a strange manner. Even Hirai was looking at him weird.

Naruto asked the question on his and Kakashi's mind. "Who are you? Don't you know it's dangerous to sneak up on people! We could have killed you." Naruto said.

The old man began stroking his ghost white beard and introduced himself. "I am Chiyo's younger brother Ebizo." They still looked lost so he pointed it out to them. "The one who attacked you is my older sister. I didn't mean to sneak up. It was you who was so pre-occupied with my sister that you didn't notice me. Also, I disagree that you could've killed me. At least not as easily as your tone would imply." He thought he answered their questions well so he began walking past them and toward where Kankarou was. "So, are you just going to stand there or are you coming to find out how Kankarou is doing?" They slowly started to follow.

As they followed many questions began swirling through their minds. Mainly though, what was Chiyo-sama's reason for hating Kakashi so much and Naruto and Hirai were also curious as to the references to the White Fang of Konoha. Naruto was not familiar with this name.

They all reached Sakura and the others and waited to see what she had found out.

**PREVIEW**

Now that our heroes have reached their destination what course of action will they take. Will Kankarou be okay. Where is team Gai and what will happen with team 8 and Jiraiya? Whoa that's a whole lotta questions? Will the author (thats me) be able to answer them all in the next chapter. You gotta stick around to find out.

**RSO **

drschuet- Thanx for the review. Yeah it was a dream sequence. Naruto be that smooth...sorry I just got from laughing about that. No I think that's Hinata's imagination that made him that smooth. No it wasn't Ero-se...I mean Jiraiya. Boy and I thought I had some twisted thoughts. J/K. Hope that helped.

dragonman180- Yup, dreamworld rules. Nice loophole to get NaruHina moments huh. So am I...so am I.

danny- thanx for the review. You have no idea how pleased I am that you liked this ch. so much. Moving on, ouch, that was brutal on Kiba. Well, I'm not planning to have them smooch or anything right off the bat, if I do that pairing I would put in a lot of development. I know where you're coming from unfortunately I had already paired Chouji up with the girl working at Ichikaru ramen. Maybe I could have them break up, but I'm not sure at this point. Hmm, if I did pair them up I would find a way to make it work and if not it would make for a hilarious break up scene. I'll do my best to please and try not to loose R&R. Thanx for the review I really appreciate them keep em coming. Oh P.S. Nice quote.

Rawd- Magic is what happened. lol j/k it was a dream. I just didn't want to make it so obvious she was dreaming though. Sorry bout the confusion.

lonekyuubi- Yeah, wow good eye for detail. NO, that kiss sir is reserved for someone else. Ok done.

kogaswolfgirl- Thank you. They are, aren't they. Hmmm... sorry I'm a guy so I don't know what your talking about. lol.

acrazygirlofmanynames- like me right. (crosses fingers)

darkhope- Seriously, thanx that means alot. Just because you asked nicely here it is.


	22. Chapter 22

Here is the new chapter. It's slow I can admit that, but I hope everybody enjoys it.

I don't own Naruto in any way, shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**A CALM BEFORE THE STORM**

Sakura had finished her examination and had done all she could do. Now they could only wait for him to heal. She turned around to face everybody. They had been hovering over her shoulder waiting for her to finish for a short while now. They were all waiting for an explanation. "I'll make this as simple as I can. Kankarous blood was coagulating at an abnormal pace making it hard to detect what was the cause. It was also laced with a second poison to complicate diagnosing the poison and finding a cure. Because you have to know the ingredients of the poison most remedies would have killed him. This poison was meant to keep him alive until somebody helped him. The chemical reaction with the remedies would have triggered a reaction that would have killed him. He would have died eventually due to the coagulation, but the sleep helped slow down the process." She finished explaining seeing that Naruto and Hirai looked completely clueless. She said. "Besides you two," she said indicating them. "Are there any questions."

Ebizo quickly spoke up. "What caused the appearance of dissolving the veins?"

Sakura had wondered the same thing at first, but had quickly seen the cause and explained it to him. "The solidifying blood was expanding so it stretched the veins. This was due to the irregular pace it was doing so." That should be all she thought to herself. While dealing with Kankarou's problem she made a large enough batch of remedy to prevent coagulation. She couldn't make a remedy because she didn't know if that was the only poison that could be used. She would have to deal with that later on.

Kakashi took the initiative in moving the conversation forward. "So what information do we have on Gaara's kidnappers?" Chiyo and Ebizo had no answer for this. Kakashi saw the look on their faces and knew what it meant. He saw that the situation had just become exponentially worse.

Hirai who had been in the background up to this point spoke up. "Kankarou told me about the situation. At least what he knew about it. Gaara was taken by two ninjas. He identified one of them as Sasori." Chiyo and Ebizo's eyes widened with recognition. However Hirai didn't stop. "He also uses poisons and puppets much like Kankarou himself. That is all the information we have on the kidnappers thus far. We do know their whereabouts. My familiar knows the location." Hirai finished.

Kakashi felt a wave of relief. He was familiar with the files on Sasori. He thought they now had a good starting point. "We have to begin organizing the group that will go try to retrieve Gaara."

As Kakashi and the others organized themselves in preparations for the mission. Jiraiya and the others were finally ready to head out after having ate a good breakfast. They didn't talk during the meal. Now however Jiraiya opened up the map so they could all see. Hinata and Shino on either side and Kiba looking over the shoulder. "Can you hold this end Hinata." Jiraiya asked. Hinata complied and this freed up his other hand to demonstrate. Jiraiya began tracing a path on the map for them. "This is the path we're going to travel." He said. They all paid attention and nodded. He then stopped. They were all expecting this to be some sort of destination they would reach by night. Jiraiya had other ideas though. This is where I want to stop to eat lunch. It's not a town, but it's a nice area to rest and regroup." Hinata and Kiba's eyes widened with shock. Shino was wearing his sun glasses so nobody knows if he was shocked, but it's likely he was.

Kiba as usual was the first one to protest. "What the hell do you think we are! We can't cover that distance by lunchtime!"

"Tschh... you can't? What about Akamarou?" Kiba looked at his friend and knew that he could. He nodded his head. He was about to keep protesting, but Jiraiya cut him off. "Then you're taking care of. We'll get there in time. Trust me...I am a Legendary sannin after all." Jiraiya was expecting an agreement to come from somewhere. A 'yeah guess you are huh'. Instead what filled his head was Kiba's laughter. He was rolling on the ground holding his sides.

"HA-AHA, legend-bwahahahaha... oh god my sides.. hahaha." Kiba was laughing hysterically now, making quite a scene. Jiraiya's eyes twitched and he began to menacingly walk towards Kiba preparing to beat some respect into him when he felt a hand on his shoulders. Shino was looking at him and he nodded. Jiraiya knew Shino was right and he should ignore Kiba, but that didn't make the desire to kick him across the forest any less. Jiraiya did not immediately turn to his two other team mates. It was hard to ignore that laughing baka. He did eventually focus his attention on Hinata and Shino though. They were both waiting to hear what he would say.

Jiraiya was glad that they were willing to listen and weren't like Kiba. "We have a long way to travel and it would benefit us to get there quickly and without wearing ourselves out." He looked at Shino. "You of the aburame tribe feed your chakra to your insects so I can't ask for your chakra. I will summon the transportation for you." He then looked at Hinata with genuine interest. "You on the other hand I will need for you to lend me some chakra I want to see something and also conserve some of my own Chakra." He patted both of them on their shoulders and moved passed them. "Ok, let's get to it." He said clapping his hands together.

Hinata spoke up. "Umm...Jiraiya-san, what about Kiba. Will he ride Akamaru that far." She asked wondering what Jiraiya was planning for them. Jiraiya's respond however was not really what she expected.

Jiraiya could still hear Kiba's laughter so his response came out a little colder than he meant it. "It doesn't matter. Kiba can shift shapes so however he wants to follow really makes no difference." He caught the edge in his voice though and when he spoke again it was a little more calm. "The choice is his. If I summoned transportation for him I might have alienated Akamaru." He was caught in a moment of thought.

Hinata asked a question that brought him out of that reverie. "W-what is our umm.. transportation going to be?" Jiraiya looked at her a smile spreading on his face.

"Oh, you'll like this." Jiraiya said. He turned around and bit his thumb in his practiced manner that brought out a little blood and formed the seals. A giant cloud of smoke appeared in front of Jiraiya and started to clear. Hinata was the first to see what was emerging out of the smoke. She let out a gasp not knowing what to think. Shino just raised his eyebrows intrigued by this mode of travel.

Kiba had finally stopped laughing and joined them. "Whoa, that's one big ass toad." Hinata started a little bit. She hadn't noticed him. Shino didn't react.

Jiraiya spoke with the frog for a little bit and then turned around and looked at Shino. "He agreed to let you ride Shino. Shino this is Taguro, Taguro Shino." Taguro bowed his head as introduction and went to stand by Shino. Taguro was about six feet tall and wore a vest, his skin was dark blue and he was very stoutly built.

Jiraiya once again turned around and went through the same procedure again. This time a orange frog appeared and took a position nearby. This was Jiraiya's friend and the frog he would ride. Jiraiya turned and beckoned Hinata over. When she was standing next to him he began to whisper in her ear. He told her to focus on her chakra so that he could draw on it to summon her frog. He explained all the details of chakra transfer. She soaked it all up like a sponge. She wanted to ask him some questions, but decided to wait until after the summoning. Jiraiya didn't tell her, but he was asking her to lend him chakra not because he couldn't do it, but because he wanted to see how much chakra she could channel. She was from the Hyugaa clan so this would be good information for him to have. First though he wanted to see if she could channel enough for a successful summoning. Hinata put both of her hands on Jiraiya's shoulders as he once again went through the summoning seals. She felt the initial jolt of her chakra moving like he said and then she felt normal again. Jiraiya drew on her chakra and she was able to supply him with enough chakra for a successful summoning. As he finished the summoning he began wondering about Hinata's capacity. He began to look forward to training with them. As the smoke cleared a lavender frog appeared in front of them. The frogs color was a few shades darker than Hinata eyes. It looked less stout than Shino's and wore a blue vest. Jiraiya turned to Hinata and introduced her to her steed. "This is Tenma, Tenma this is Hinata." Once they were all paired off he said in a clear voice so they could all hear. "Familiarize yourselves and when we are off as soon as we're ready." He then started walking torwards his frog when he was stopped by Kiba.

"Hey, old man what about me?" Kiba asked. Standing next to Akamaru, Jiraiya's anwer shamed him a little bit.

Jiraiya turned to look at Kiba and in a semi-frustrated voice addressed him. "I already told you, you would ride with Akamaru. You can travel alongside him, or am I wrong. Do you just want to leave him behind to travel by himself?"

Kiba looked at Akamaru. Even though Akamaru took no insult in what had been said. He felt glad that he would not be made to follow alone. Kiba apologized to Akamaru and Akamaru let him know that he should not think anything of it.

After a few minutes Shino and Hinata were successfully mounted and communicating with their frogs. Kiba sat on top of Akamaru. Jiraiya thought they were ready to ride and mounted his own frog. Once they were all mounted he turned to them and addressed Kiba. "We'll ride straight for half hour increments. Every half hour we'll take a break to let you catch up. We don't want to wear ourselves out so don't try to be tough and not tell us if you need a break." Jiraiya saw that Kiba was sticking out his lips in a stubborn fashion and wondered if he was going to make it. There was only one way to find out though.

Hinata asked a question. "So we're just taking a break for Kiba to catch up, why don't we just keep pace with him?" At this Jiraiya started laughing. A look of confusion settled on everyone's face. What was so funny they all wondered.

"I'm sorry, you guys haven't done this before. It's not just for Kiba's benefit, it's for your benefit as well. You will see though." Jiraiya turned and in a loud voice asked. "Are we ready. He glanced at Shino to see him nod and then at Hinata to see her nod as well. "Then let's ride. Tenma, Taguro follow us." Jiraiya yelled as his frog took to the air with a powerful leap." Immediately after that Tenma and Taguro were after them. Akamaru was also beginning to follow. In this manner their trip began.

Back in the desert a group was leaving the village of sand. In this group there were four people following a small ferret. The three Konoha shinobi had been joined by Chiyo. They were going at a fast pace and after a short time were out of the villages sight. A short while after this on the opposite side of the village another group of shinobi were arriving. Gai and his group had made good time and were now coming within sight of the village of sand.

Kakashi and his companions did not want to bring Chiyo, but she had convinced them of her importance to their success. She had a thorough knowledge of one of the kidnappers and his techniques. She also knew the desert and would be able to notice traps or other obstacles that they could not. In the end the Konoha shinobi had set aside their discomforts and agreed to have her travel with them. By now they had covered a good distance and even with her skills Chiyo had failed to notice they were being spied upon. Only Kakashi noticed, but he dismissed it, thinking it was only his imagination.

At the village of sand Gai and his team were meeting with Temari about their current situation. After a brief discussion it was decided that Temari would go with them to find Kakashi and his team while Hirai would stay and watch over Kankarou's recovery. Temari thought it best to leave quickly so they could track them down with more ease. For this reason they left without thoroughly formulating a plan. She told Gai she trusted them and would leave the tactical decisions to him if they were necessary as she didn't know enough about his subordinates. After their brief meeting they too were heading out and crossing the gates of the village on the trail of Kakashi and his group.

At a cave in an undisclosed area there was a group of shadows around a seemingly unconscious Gaara. It appeared from their body language that they had come to an impass. One of the shadows broke the then lingering silence. "We need to re-think our strategy. This jinchurikki is unlike the ones we have dealt with before. We may not be able to break the bond at this time." This voice said.

Another voice quickly spoke up. "You would waste the effort put into getting it? I cannot accept this." It angrily said.

The first shadow turned its head in this new voices direction and in a menacing voice retorted. "The host is already at deaths door. Your efforts would be wasted if we killed it before extracting the youma. You dis-" This voice was abruptly interrupted by a third voice. This voice belongs to Zetsu it was oily and cunning.

"We have interlopers. They are on the way here. One of my subordinates spotted them crossing over a while ago. Just now I was informed of a second group following this first." Zetsu finished.

A fourth voice now spoke up. This voice spoke with curiosity and a sense of authority. "How many and from where are they?" This shadow had been overseeing the arguments so far.

Zetsu answered however. "There are four in each group. It appears there are three Konoha shinobi in each group being led here by a sand ninja in each group." Zetsu gave no other information other than what was requested.

The fourth voice seemed amused. "From Konoha huh?" He looked at the shadows resembling Itachi and Kisame. "Would you two like to buy us some time while we wrap up our little get together?" Even though it was a question he sounded as if he expected nothing less than compliance.

Itachi answered smugly. "I see no reason not to deal with the trash from my village. We will buy you some time while you wrap up here. Just inform us of what's going on later on." With that Itachi and Kisame's shadows dimmed and disappeared.

The shadow that seemed to be the leader turned to address all the others present a total of eight now. "Now that that's settled let's finish up here."

**PREVIEW**

Jiraiya looks forward to training, how will he go about it. Will Naruto and his group get to Gaara in time.

**RSO'S**

dragonman180- You, you got some good ideas. I hadn't thought about that poor Akamaru I don't think I could traumatize Akamaru like that. lol. Thanx for the review.

drschuet-Yeah he is. lol. That's a good question, we might have to find out. I'm sorry about the sand mission being to much like the cannon, but there a lot of things that I will change in the coming chapters that aren't like the cannon. Also I used this so that I could give team 8 the opportunity to have their adventure and set up alot of other things. Thanks for the review. You probably skimmed through portions of this chapter too. Don't skim over the Naruto Itachi encounter though. Lol.

danny-yeah she is. Yeah poor Hinata maybe one day that dream will become reality. As long as Naruto doesn't find out Kiba should be safe. Umm... if Hinata and Jiraiya don't kill him first. lol. I don't hate you, if you read Ichikarus comments in ch. 4 I mention a new girl being hired to handle the workload Naruto would bring to the shop I haven't gone into detail about it, but it's not the same person. I left that in the air so I can still do other things with it. Thanx for your thoughts though I will take them into consideration.

bakamcgee-Thanx for the review. I know Naruto does shift characters and maybe I did make it a little too forced, but there is a reason that will be revealed later. On the dream thing maybe you're right. I'm not too good with grammar. The bell was in her dream and when she woke up she didn't really realize it yet so she thought it was supposed to be there for real. Maybe I spoil future things but it has something to do with the idea she wants to act on. Sorry bout the confusion.

biggstone-thanx

acrazygirlofmanynames- ummm...thanx I think.


	23. Chapter 23

Ok, so here's the new ch. hope everybody enjoys. Don't forget to review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form but if I did this is how it would go.

**CONFRONTATION IN THE DESERT I**

Out in the forest a frog came into a large clearing and stopped. Jiraiya sat calmly on the giant frog and surveyed his surroundings. A few moments later Jiraiya was joined by two other frogs carrying his companions. This was their third stop. Shino slid off the frog and lay down, without saying a word. He spread his his arms and let his body relax. Jiraiya noted this and slid off his frog as well to go speak to him. Hinata also slid off her frog and began rubbing her legs. She had not expected the physical drain of riding a frog. It had not been to bad at the first stop and Jiraiya had told them it would be an enjoyable ride when they got used to it. Unfortunately they didn't know how long it would take to get used to. The drain of chakra wasn't too bad until it was actually compounded by the frogs skin and motion. It was the actual landing of the frog that made it hard to keep balance. On top of that she had to grip the vest with all her might at all times to keep from falling off. Jiraiya said they had to find a way to make themselves more comfortable, but at the moment they had been unable to do so. Hinata also sat down thinking of how much riding frogs sucked. She almost wanted to trade spots with Kiba. Jiraiya hadn't been joking about what he said about their breaks she was definetely not looking forward to keep going. She closed her eyes and tried to rest as much as she could. Jiraiya meanwhile had reached Shino and was sitting next to him. "I know this is a huge drain on you, I want to speak to you when we break for lunch. Just you and me I have a lot of things to discuss with you. Also, I got something that will help you. I...hmm we'll speak later. Kiba is almost here. I know you heard me so you don't need to answer. Rest up... for now." Jiraiya said. Shino did as asked he simply lay there and moved his arms over his head. This helped with the cardiovascular circulation. As Jiraiya stood up Kiba came crashing into the clearing sitting on top of Akamaru.

Kiba was laughing gleefully. "What are you guys doing! Tired already?" Kiba teased. He saw that they really were being wore down and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I was just joking. Ano...we're making great time though..." He wanted to lift their spirits somewhat, but they were to tired to respond. Jiraiya was the only one who seemed unphased. He was walking towards him calmly.

Jiraiya found Kiba's taunts distasteful, but he didn't say anything. He didn't fully know how their relationship worked, but he figured this was Kiba's way of relating to everyone. He pulled out the map and waved Kiba over. Kiba dismounted Akamaru and they made their way towards Jiraiya. Jiraiya unrolled the map so Kiba and Akamaru could see it. "Ok Kiba, This is where we're heading." He began to explain directions to Kiba and pointing out landmarks for him to guide himself by and where they should expect to meet next. Kiba listened well and noted all the details. Even though Kiba didn't want to admit it he was coming to respect Jiraiya's organizational skills and his knowledge of the land. After a few minutes of discussion Jiraiya finished his directions and rolled up the map. "You can take a short break if you want. We'll take off in a few minutes." Jiraiya offered.

Kiba shook his head. "We'll head out right now and rest at the next stop. I'll travel on foot so's not to wear out Akamaru." He began walking forward and looked back. "We'll see you at the next stop." With that he began running and before he left the clearing had taken on his beast form and was running with Akamaru at his side.

Jiraiya sat down and decided to give Hinata and Shino a longer break. They would easily catch him, Jiraiya let out a sigh and contemplated their journey.

Out in the desert Itachi and Kisame were conversing. "So you think Kakashi's group is on the way here and that green suited piece of trash is in the second group following them." Kisame said.

"Gai, yes. That is what I think. So, what group would you like to take." Itachi said.

Kisami chuckled. "Since you put it like that, I think I would enjoy tangling with this...Gai." He said and chuckled again.

Itachi nodded. "Remember we only need to buy some time. Don't do anything stupid and underestimate him." Itachi warned. Kisame sneered at this his chakra sword shifting in anticipation. He turned around and disappeared. Already on his way to find his targets. Itachi looked out over the desert and asked a question. "I wonder Kakashi, did you bring Naruto. I hope so it would save me a lot of time and effort if I could see how far he's come along now." Itachi also stepped forward disappearing from view. He too was on his way to find his targets now.

Temari was running a few steps in front of Gai and his team. Scanning the barren desert for any changes when all of a sudden her foot sank into the sand and she tumbled forward. She had not seen anything wrong this was totally unexpected. She had no time to think it through as she tried to run past this obstacle with zero success. Gai and the others had been following so closely behind they too were unable to escape this trap. They were all sinking in the sand. Neji was quick in thought and thought it was quicksand. However he noticed that it wasn't as he tried to move slowly back and was successful however he did not feel it becoming more solid and suddenly his left foot sank harder than his right. He suddenly knew it was some kind of jutsu that was doing this with the sand. Unfortunately he could not figure out this situation. Everyone else came to this realization slowly and stopped struggling thinking that would give them time to figure out a way out. This was not the case however. Once they all stopped struggling they all sank into the sand up to their chests and shoulders. Temari had had enough of this and yelled out in frustration. "What the hell is going on!"

Once she said that the sand instantly hardened and they did not sink anymore. As a matter of fact they couldn't move at all. As they all struggled to move a laughter rose from behind them. They all looked towards the source of the laughter, but couldn't get a clear view of him. It seemed that wouldn't be a problem as he walked around them making sure they could all see him. Laughing the whole time. He wore a black robe with roses on it as well and a headband of the village of mist with a long cut running across it. On his back sat a huge sword wrapped in bandages. His skin was blue and his hair was black. On the outside corners of his eyes he had what seemed to be gills. Even though he also had a nose. They couldn't tell if they were just for show or if they served a purpose. He finally stopped walking though and looked up at the sky. "What the hell is going on! Huh! I was wondering the same thing. I didn't think that a water summoning in the sand would give you so much trouble. Looks like if I hadn't undone the jutsu you guys would've died right now." Kisame started laughing again. "Then what would I do. I couldn't have fun anymore." He instantly turned serious and looked at the shinobi stuck in the sand. All of them were glaring at him with a desire to fight. "Is that all you got. You can't even get out of there. Don't tell me that moist sand is enough to stop you." He mocked. "If you can't even get out of this simple trap then you're not even worth fighting." He was starting to become aggitated were these the guys everyone was worried about. Maybe he should have gone after the other group. They might have been more fun. He reconsidered when he saw Gai. "Oh do you remember me from Konoha... what did they call you the blue beast?" He laughed again. "They should change your name to the dead beast."

Temari felt the frustration rising. She couldn't form any seals in their current condition none of them could. How could she let them fall for this trap. She wanted to scream, but she knew she had to keep her cool. Her mind started working on the problem, but she could not see any way to get out of this. Fortunately for her she wasn't the only one working on the problem. Gai looked deep in thought and after a few moments he answered Kisame's question. "I don't remember you...but if you want to fight the noble blue beast of Konoha then I'd be happy to oblige." Gai slowly began pulling himself out of the sand. Kisami saw this and smiled. He didn't interrupt him, he just waited until Gai had gotten up and was once again standing on solid ground and dusting himself off.

Kisami let out a short laugh and said. "Ooohhh, I'm glad you don't disappoint." Gai rushed at Kisami with lightning fast speed and engaged him in hand to hand combat. While the fighting would look intense to most people Rock Lee realized they were both just feeling each other out. Rock Lee had also figured our how to get out. By flexing and relaxing his muscles rapidly he began vibrating and was able to move in the sand. Once out he quickly went to Neji and began digging him out. They then dug out Tenten and Temari. As soon as Temari was out she lunged towards Kisami.

However before she could take a step a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see Neji. He began speaking as soon as she looked at him. "We need to find Naruto. Don't let your emotions get to you we all fell for the trap and were careless we can't do that again. We have to split up do you want to help us find Naruto or will you stay here and fight?" Neji asked. The sense of urgency barely contained in his voice.

Temari thought about this and came to the conclusion that Neji was probably better suited to find Naruto. "I'll help here." She said. Neji nodded and turned to Tenten.

At that moment Kisame noticed they were free and disengaged himself from his fight with Gai. He once again started laughing. This laughing had interrupted Neji but he had laid out the plan so now it was only a question of carrying it out. "So now we can get serious!" Kisami yelled with obvious glee. He jumped up in the air and threw his sword above his head. He quickly formed his seals for his aquatic shockwave jutsu. As soon as he finished his seals he took a deep breath and his chest expanded to unreal proportions. He opened his mouth and water started coming out of his mouth. It looked like he had become an open fire hydrant the way the water shot out and it did not stop it began flooding the desert. Large waves of water were spreading in every direction Neji and Rock Lee both began running in the direction they had been heading before the encounter. With Kisami performing such a huge jutsu he would not be able to catch them that easily. However Kisami did see them and started shooting water in their direction. They stayed a step ahead of the ever growing waves though and were able to escape narrowly as the wave crashed behind them the water kept coming but now not at such alarming velocity. They did not stop however, they had purpose to run faster. As Neji and Rock Lee got further away Neji's mind was still amazed at the amount of Chakra Kisami displayed. Not only had he flooded a part of the desert, but his trap had used a lot of chakra to summon that much water under the sand. He wished his comrades luck because they would not have an easy time with their opponent. Kisami decided to let them go. His only goal was to buy some time and he had accomplished that. Now, he just wanted to have a little bit of fun. The landscape had completely changed now. They were now standing on what seemed to be a lake.

Tenten, Temari, and Gai were all now using their chakra to stay afloat. Kisami caught his sword on his way back down. Gai was not about to let this guy get off easy. He ran toward Kisami making waves as he ran and was upon him in no time. He unleashed a flurry of attacks. Kisami was barely able to dodge them. He still hadn't landed, but Gai didn't care he wanted this to be over as soon as possible and kept attacking. Kisami was laughing as he started using his sword to block Gai's punches. He didn't punch back, yet, but kept being evasive until he landed. Once his feet were on the water Kisami immediately stabbed his sword still wrapped in bandages in the water. It remained standing there. Kisami did not miss a beat though and kept up with Gai's attacks only one punch landed, but Kisami was not phased. Gai threw a powerful roundhouse kick. Kisami saw the kick before it was fully launched and put his hand out to meet it. He caught Gai's leg half-way through it's trajectory, but was only able to slow it down. However that was all he needed. He had created an opening and threw a punch of his own which landed right below Gai's chest and sent him flying backwards all the way back to where Temari was now standing. Kisami grabbed his sword quickly and let himself sink underwater. Where he had been standing a large explosion went off. Up in the air Tenten had launched a large amount of projectiles with exploding notes. Underwater Kisami swam downward escaping the projectiles that had followed him. They did not explode and lost speed underwater. Kisami began laughing again. That girl had almost singed his hair he thought.

Tenten landed next to Temari and Gai once again. "So what do you think Gai-sensei?" Tenten asked.

Gai rand his forearm over his forehead and thought about it. "He's strong physically stronger than anyone I've fought before and fast. We still don't know what he can do, but he's exhausted a lot of chakra already so we definitely have a chance." Meanwhile Kisami was underwater swimming towards them. Gai and the others sensed him coming just before he broke the surface and jumped away as he rose from the water swinging his sword in a wide horizontal arc. Temari had jumped back as well, but was almost directly in front of him. She quickly reached for her fan as he raised his sword ready to bring it down. She pulled out her fan and swinging it full force in a horizontal arc aimed at Kisami's sword. Kisami was unable to bring his sword down due to the force of the wind. Tenten had thrown what seemed to be a ball with blades sticking out at all angles at Kisami's sword while he had it raised. As he tried to swing it down again there was an explosion. The force of the explosion knocked the sword out of Kisami's hand and sent blades flying everywhere. Temari swung her giant fan once again sending the blades coming at her back in Kisami's direction. However the force of her swing caused Kisami to also go flying back as well. As Kisame came to a stop Gai came out of nowhere and landed a solid hook on Kisami's cheek which sent him flying even further away this time Kisami crashed through the water unable to control his fall. As Kisami continued his trip Gai reached down and picked up Kisami's sword. Tenten and Temari came closer to get a better look. Gai was beginning to unwrap it when Kisami's voice reached them. Kisami was no longer laughing and his voice had now turned serious. "You dare touch my property." He was now standing with and open hand stretched out towards them. Suddenly the sword hilt in Gai's hands shot out thorns that seemed to be made of bone. They penetrated Gai's skin and he let out a yell. Then the sword flew from his hands opening up huge cuts. Tenten was standing in the way of the sword and Kisami. The sword flew directly at her with alarming speed. Tenten tried to move out of the way, but was not quick enough. The bandages on the sword loosened and it made contact with Tenten it violently scraped her clothes like sand paper and it caught her shirt and ripped it off at her abdomen. The sword under the bandages was like a nest of thorns and as it scraped along Tenten's soft skin it ripped it off without mercy. Her wound was not deep, but it was wide and there was a lot of blood. All this happened in less then a second. Tenten was not ready for the pain that shot across her body and lost control of her chakra. She instantly fell underwater and began sinking. The water began to make her bleed faster. Temari quickly put up her fan and dived in after Tenten. Tenten had curled up in a ball and was tightly gabbing her abdomen the water they had been standing on was salt water and the salt content was making her wound feel like it was on fire. The pain was excruciating. Temari swam after her as fast as she could, but felt like she was taking forever moving underwater. Meanwhile on the surface of the water a menacing voice had stopped Gai from diving in after them. "If you try to save them you will forfeit your life. Face me and my great blade 'Samehada'. Beat me if you want to live...you already know the alternative." Kisami was standing calmly now. He casually swung his sword upwards and brought it to rest on his shoulder. Gai stared at his oponent with intense anger. He began to concentrate and veins began appearing on his forehead.

Gai said to himself. "We will not die here." The water at Gai's feet began to become aggitated rapidly until there were huge waves riding away from him. He was deep in concentration and his body tensed violently. Blood was dripping from his clenched fists and he used the eight gates opening jutsu. Keimon gate the sixth gate was now open. Kisami was impressed, he assumed his fighting position. He now saw why Itachi had said not to underestimate them.

Naruto and the others were flying full speed behind the surprisingly fast ferret. When suddenly the ferret stopped and just as quickly turned back and ran towards them. They all turned to see where the ferret was running. Could it be that they had passed up an entrance out here in the desert. They were about to begin following the ferret when Naruto looked back towards the way they had been heading and there was a shadow there. A shadow Naruto recognized. "You!" He yelled. Everyone turned to see who it was Naruto was yelling at. Other than Naruto only Kakashi recognized the cloaked figure that was standing before them.

**PREVIEW**

Action, and more action, and what does Jiraiya want to talk to Shino about? Oh I can't wait.

**RSO**

dragonman180- Looks that way, but with them being so mysterious, you never know. Oh good observation. I don't know what to tell you about Gaara...you'll have to keep reading to find out.

danny- yeah, it's good to be alive. Hmmm...I guess it won't hurt to tell you now. I had actually planned to kill off Hirai early in the story to make it totally different, but I ended up liking her character so I made some changes so I can put her in the spot light later on. So many ideas so little time. Jiraiya and his team are just starting...give Shino some credit he's to cool to freak out. lol j/k. Don't worry about reading right through it. You have no idea how weird it felt actually having to go back and find it so I could point it out. Surreal hard to believe how much I've written. Feels like just yesterday I...sorry I lost my train of thought. Oh about the ch's. sorry. It's just hard to find a stopping point and...ok sorry I just gota little lazy. Man, I didn't think anyone would notice though. Oh yeah, NaruHina moments. Hopefully they will be worth the wait.

vandrad- sorry, I don't know how to separate the chs. I tried underlining and whatnot, but it doesn't seem to work and I want to carry all the plot-lines. Sorry.

acrazygirlofmanynames- OHMYGOD, are you psychic? J/K. thanx for the review.

dualrasengan- sorry, I try.


	24. Chapter 24

Ok, everybody here's the newest chapter. Don't hate me for creating suspense. You know you like it. J/K anyways enjoy and let me know what you think. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**CONFRONTATION II**

As they all stood there Itachi suddenly flickered. Kakashi quickly wondered if it was his imagination, that was extremely short lived as Itachi spoke from behind them. "Animals have such amazing senses, don't you think, Kakashi?" They all spun around and saw Itachi standing over the cowering ferret. "What does that say about you and your group Kakashi? That an animal has better survival instincts. Whatever it says it's certainly not good." Itachi reached up to take off his Aketsuki hat with the bells and tossed it covering the ferret. He turned around and looked at the four shinobi. They were all tense and ready to fight. He didn't recognize the old hag or the pink haired kunoichi, but they were of little interest to him. "Why are you so tense, I won't kill the ferret. If that's what your worried about." Itachi said nonchalantly. Kakashi and the rest of the group remained tense, the ferret was the furthest thing from their mind at the moment.

Naruto took a step forward, but Kakashi put his arm in front of him blocking his path. He barked out an order for everybody. "Don't look at his eyes! Focus on his feet if you must, but don't make eye contact." Kakashi was already following his own advice focusing on Itachi's feet. This had been the advice given to him by Gai sensei after their encounter with Itachi. Kakashi hoped it would work. Sakura did as she was told, she did not know who this person was or why Kakashi seemed so worried. However she trusted Kakashi and knew that he had a reason for what he said. Chiyo on the other hand had no such feelings. She let out a hmph and continued to look at Itachi saying nothing. Naruto listened as well, hard as it was, he knew first hand how dangerous Itachi could be. Jiraiya was not here to help him this time so he couldn't afford to fool around now. He grudgingly swallowed his pride and looked down.

"How rude. How are we supposed to have a proper conversation without eye contact?" Itachi asked, he then let out a chuckle. "Could it be that you're afraid of me? Is that why you don't want to look me in the eye?" Kakashi did not respond to Itachi's taunting. Itachi looked at Kakashi's comrades and decided to test them as well. "Are you... all... also afraid of me?" He asked.

Naruto couldn't stand it anymore, knowing all he knew he still couldn't take this crap from Itachi. He was about to speak up when suddenly Chiyo spoke up. "What is wrong with you Konoha ninja. This is an Uchiha. We have the advantage here. He can't use his sharingan on all of us at once. It's an eye jutsu he uses so even if he catches one of us. There are other's so we can unravel the jutsu and take him down. Are you ninja from Konoha so pathetic you don't know this?" Chiyo said in a smug fashion.

Itachi stared at her with an icy gaze she met his stare with pride. Itachi said nothing Kakashi was the one who told Chiyo. "This man has surpassed the sharingan that you may have been familiar with. He uses a technique that can take hold in an instant and cannot be broken through any means that I am aware of. This technique is called the mangekyou sharingan." Kakashi said in a conversational tone. He had relaxed somewhat and was quickly thinking of what options they had. Running away was not one of those options.

Itachi looked at his prey now with a bored expression. "Insightful as ever Kakashi. It's too bad that you have already lost." Kakashi started at this comment, but found he couldn't move. None of them could they couldn't even turn around all they couldn't even speak. Itachi took no notice of their surprise instead he turned to pick up his hat and let the ferret escape. "I'm sure you're familiar with the shadow imitation technique. You all were so worried about me that you didn't even notice my clone sneak up behind you and perform the jutsu." What Itachi said was true. There was a clone standing right behind them with four shadow strings connecting him to them, thus controlling them. Itachi then walked up to Chiyo. "You thought you could handle me, but you can't even stop me from laying a finger on you." To demonstrate his point Itachi did just that, he reached out and poked her forehead. Kakashi and the others could only stand there and watch from the corners of their eyes. Their chances of survival were plummeting. Chiyo had to think,there was no way she was going to loose like this to some Konoha scum. Her temper was flaring. "Oh, do I take it you want to face me then?" Itachi asked noting her obvious discomfort. "Very well then." The Itachi clone released the shadow thread and Chiyo was released.

While all this was happening with Naruto and his group Gai and his team were facing a powerful rival as well. After Tenten had sand and Temari had gone down after her Gai had opened the sixth celestial gate. His physical abilities were exponentially higher now. When he took off toward Kisame it was at a speed the naked eye could not follow. Kisame was no pushover though before Gai got to him Kisame had raised his sword above his head and brought it crashing down. Gai met the sword with his fist. The force of the impact sent waves flying over the water. Gai suddenly disappeared from in front of Kisame. He reappeared in the air besides Kisame and unleashed a powerful punch. Kisame was barely able to bring his hand up in time to block the punch and even then the force of the punch still drove him to his knees. Gai didn't stop moving however, he spun his body around and delivered a devastating roundhouse. Kisame was barely able to bring his sword up to block the attack. Once again it proved almost ineffectual as the kick sent him sliding backwards. Kisame was barely able to keep his balance. He immediately knew this man was a worthy opponent and to be taken seriously. Kisame looked up to see Gai once again launch himself towards him. That would be the last thing Kisame would see though as a small scythe lodged itself in his skull up to the hilt.

The moment Gai had launched himself at Kisame the first time Temari broke the surface of the water. She did not see the fight between Kisame and Gai as she was quickly opening her fan and setting Tenten on top of it. She turned around and saw Kisame go down to his knees from Gai's punch. She quickly formed a few seals and summoned a scythe. She had only put Tenten on the fan enough so that she wouldn't sink again. As soon as the scythe was in her hand Kisame was flying in her direction with his back towards her. He came to a stop a few yards away from her. As soon as she saw the opening though she jumped Kisame seemed to pause a moment before beginning to get up. That was all she needed. In that moment she sealed his fate. Gai came to a stop directly in front of her. Causing waves. The water level began to decrease as Kisame fell forward. This caused Tenten to slide off the fan and begin sinking again. Gai saw this immediately he quickly realized the situation and closed his celestial gates before diving in after Tenten. Temari who had her back to Tenten did not notice this and was unaware of what Gai was doing. Her attention was focused on the body that had fallen in front of her and was also sinking.

Leaving this scene we move to a forest and a more peaceful setting. Jiraiya was setting out food for everybody. He called to Hinata and Kiba. "Hey you two, can you guys do me a favor and finish setting everything up for lunch over here? I need to speak with Shinno." He asked. Hinata nodded and went to do as she was asked. Shino raised his eyebrows in interest. He remembered his earlier conversation with Jiraiya and was curious as to what he wanted to talk about. Jiraiya stood up and waited for Shino to stand as well. Once he was standing Jiraiya led the way into the forest away from the little camp they had set up for lunch. Shino followed him.

Once they had left Hinata looked at Kiba. He was not getting up to help her and she had been somewhat annoyed with his behavior lately. She saw this was a good a time as any to talk to him about it. "Kiba...why aren't you helping me out? The quicker we do this the more time we have to rest before we start traveling again." She then awaited for his response.

Kiba looked at her trying to find the best way to explain himself. He already knew why it was just the words he was having trouble with. He was to proud to really think about what he was going to say so he just blurted out the answer. "He's not our leader, I don't have to listen to him. No way would I listen to someone so full of himself." He then mocked Jiraiya. "After all he's a legendary sannin...whatever let him do it himself." Kiba finished off with frustration showing through his voice. He hoped that answered her question. The more he thought about Jiraiya the less he thought he liked him.

Hinata had half expected his answer. To have it confirmed did not make her task any easier. She put down the plates she had been setting and looked at him solemnly. "Why are you doing this? Acting like that?" She asked.

Kiba looked at his childhood friend not really understanding what she meant. "What are you talking about? I'm just being honest." Kiba said in a totally clueless manner.

Hinata wasted no time in telling him exactly what she meant. "Don't you care about the mission, about us. Jiraiya-san means us no ill will and is doing what he thinks is necessary. Whatever you want to say... Jiraiya is one of us for now. We are a team Kiba, you have to trust him like you trust us. If one of us died on the mission what would your explanation be?" She said in a calm voice. Kiba was stunned by her words and knew her well enough that she was only telling the truth. "I...I don't want that to happen and I would hope that you could put aside your pride so we can work as a team. The Hokage trusts this man and we should do the same. We don't know how hard this mission might be, even though it sounds simple, we don't need to make it harder." She paused and thought if there was anything else she could say. A few other thoughts crossed her mind, but she couldn't bring herself to voice them. So she finished talking "Kiba, please...try to trust Jiraiya-san." After she finished there was a long pause. She then went back to finish what she was doing.

Kiba sat there silently digesting what Hinata had said. He didn't ever know if she meant to make him feel guilty, but she did a damn good job of it. He looked at the situation and saw that she made a good point. He didn't have any real reason not to trust Jiraiya or listen to him other than the fact that he had hurt his pride. The more he thought about and it was hard for him to admit it. He only had himself to blame. Even though Hinata hadn't talked much she had given him much to think about. He got up and walked over to her. Akamaru raised his head, but put it back down when he saw everything was okay. Kiba got down on his haunches, he began trying to help Hinata. She noted this and gave him a soft smile. Kiba couldn't take it anymore. "I..." He cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm s-s-sorry... you're right. I'll try to trust Jiraiya." Kiba said.

Hinata always felt awkward in situations like these. "Ano, you don't have to apologize Kiba-kun. Ano... it's okay." She felt like she should say something, but she had no idea what. Instead she just finished setting the food and lay down to rest. Kiba decided to lie down as well. He walked back over near Akamaru and lay down.

Not a long ways from where Kiba and Hinata were resting Jiraiya had found a small clearing where he and Shino sat to have their talk. Jiraiya thought this would be the hardest conversation so that is why he chose to speak with Shino first. When they had both gotten comfortable Jiraiya took a deep breath. "Shino, maybe I should have had this conversation with you earlier, but with all that was going I hope you can understand. I hope you don't hold it against me." He paused for a while Shino didn't know if Jiraiya wanted a response, but none was forthcoming. Shino wanted to know what this was about as soon as possible, Jiraiya sounded serious. Apparently Jiraiya didn't expect a response because after a while he continued. His voice sounding more normal. "Shino, a while back I ran into someone and they asked me a favor if I ran into you. He also told me you were going to be a great shinobi one day. After dealing with you I can't say I disagree with you. I don't know much about the Aburame clan or their techniques. So there isn't much I can teach you. I can offer advice if you ever need it, but you are already more than capable. I assume you already know who it was that told me this about you?" Jiraiya asked. Shino did not really dare to voice his thoughts in case he was wrong so he just shook his head. Jiraiya saw this and chuckled. "I don't believe you Shino. I think you know who it was. I won't waste more time than needed though. It was Shibi Aburame." Shino felt his emotions rise at the name of his father, it had been a long time since he had seen him. "I don't know what he's up too or why he's doing the things he thinks he needs to do. However I thought he was a good man so I agreed to do this favor." Jiraiya was now digging into his pockets and pulled out and envelope and a small scroll. He held out the envelope to Shino. "Take it, it's from Shibi." Shino took the envelope hardly believing Jiraiya. However he knew Jiraiay had no reason to lie so he took the envelope and put in one of his pockets he did not want to read it in front of anybody. Jiraiya continued talking as he unrolled his small scroll and formed some seals. "This is also from him." He said as he finished his seals. In front of him smoke was clearing and there was a small round gourd. "You know how to use it already?" Jiraiya looked at Shino with interest waiting for an answer.

Shino remembered discussions he had with his father where he told him about the gourd and it's uses. It was during one time in particular that he remembered when they were walking through the forest. Shino was a few years younger and looking up at his father. He asked. "Father, what is your gourd for?" His father didn't turn to look at him, but Shino could see him smiling. Something rare that Shino treasured.

Shibi began to speak in a gruff voice sunshine shining of his sunglasses. "Your perception is good Shino. You still have much to learn though." Shibi looked at his son and ruffled his hair. "You only have a small amount of chakra right now Shino. So you have to have the insects live solely in your body. However there will come a time when you will have enough chakra to feed your insects with ease. The insects eat as they please once you are ready you will have to discipline them to consume only the chakra they need and not to be gluttonous. This gourd" He said pointing to the gourd with his thumb. "serves many purposes. It gives you a place for your insects to reside while not in your body. This saves you chakra so that you can also perform other seals and not rely solely on your insects. For the most part you and your insects can take care of most situations. There's times though that you will need chakra where the insects won't be able to help you. There are many situations you may encounter, but I won't list them all because you have to be ready at all times and if I told you, you would look for signs and focus in on something instead of taking everything in and making your decisions. That Shino is very important." Shibi then fell silent and walked on.

Shino waited a few seconds and when he saw his father wasn't going to keep talking he spoke up once again. "You didn't finish your explanation dad. What other purposes does the gourd serve?" Shino asked.

Shibi chuckled once again and spoke. "You're right Shino. Aside from providing you with chakra it allows you to keep more insects." Shibi said.

Shino wondered if that was all and asked the question on his mind. "Is that all? Dad." Shino stopped and looked at his dad waiting for the rest of the answer.

Shibi stopped and looked back at his son. "No you are right Shino there is one more purpose." He paused and looked at the curious expression on Shino's face. He loved his son and his hunger for knowledge. "It also serves as a badass accessory that makes you look cool." Shino looked at his father with a curious expression. Shibi walked back to his son and ruffled his hair again. "You need to lighten up sometimes Shino. If there are any more purposes you may be the one to find them. I'm sorry Shino, but that's all I can tell you." Shibi said. He then turned around and went back on his way. Shino followed him.

Back in the clearing with Jiraiya. Shino responded to the question. "Yes, I have the basic idea." He reached out and took the gourd Jiraiya was now holding in front of him. He said this was a completely unexpected discussion and left him with many questions. His curiosity didn't allow him not to ask at least one. "How do you know my father?"

Jiraiya looked at Shino and thought about if it was wise to tell him that he and Shibi had been drinking partners before. "We met around town Shino...same as you and your other friends." Shino was now very suspicious he was about to ask more questions when Jiraiya cut him off. "Heres a strap for the gourd you can use. So let's go back to camp now. We still have a long way to go." Jiraiya then turned around and started walking towards the camp. Leaving Shino to get up and follow. Shino smiled this reminded him of his father. He thought to himself (I guess I should try to lighten up a little bit.) Jiraiya stopped a little ways ahead of him and without turning back said. "I know this might not mean much coming from me, because you don't know me well yet, but your father really did care about you. Even before asking me this favor he always spoke of how special you are." Jiraiya then kept walking headed back to camp. Shino didn't say anything, but what Jiraiya said did mean a lot to him. He then followed Jiraiya with many thoughts going through his head.

**PREVIEW**

A battle with Itachi, is Chiyo going to die? How will Naruto and the others get out of this mess? Where are Rock Lee and Neji?

**RSO**

dragonman180- I hope I didn't disappoint. I don't think this will be their final confrontation, but still hopefully you're still happy with how he was dealt with. Damn it, I knew I was wrong. At least I spelled it right this chapter.

Danny- I'm glad I kept Hirai around as well. Later on she's gonna have a bigger part and I plan to develop a cool backstory for her as well. Age, I was thinking between 14-15. What do you think? I haven't said yet all I said was that she was younger than Temari so I wouldn't mind any suggestions. Yeah she would probably love riding frogs with Naruto. lol. Thanks for letting me know. Hmm I don't think last chapter was too short. Hopefully we won't have any trouble. Yeah salt on a cut sucks. OH I GOTCHA! You skimmed through the chapter huh? Hirai isn't with Naruto, Chiyo is and Hirai is taking care of Kankarou. ummm... I think that's it for now. I got a feeling I'm forgetting something. LOL.

yui-lion-demon-kik-cat-...-that's a long name. good night.

narashikamaru21- don't worry, I won't spoil your story for anyone else. Well, hopefully what I write isn't one of those scenario's. I would hate to ruin the story for you. I'll do my best to challenge the imagination. Yeah NaruHina rocks. (They have Naruto and Hinata plushies. I never knew that.)

causeiambetta- Thanx alot that really means a lot to me. Sometimes you wonder about your story and comments like yours are always encouraging.


	25. Chapter 25

Hey again. Before you get started on this ch. I wanted to say to all that have gotten this far. Thank you, I'm glad you've liked the story enough to read it this far. I don't know how many more chapters there will be before the end of this arc, but hopefully you'll be there to enjoy the end. Also thanx for putting up with my grammar skills (or lack thereof, lol) and formatting. (like I said this is my first fic and hopefully the material is improving I tried to add something to separate the scenes to make it seem less cluttered. Let me know what you think, oh I also tried to put thoughts in parentheses so comments are welcome.) Oh, I know nobody asked, but if you're curious about the title it's because I think I'm putting everyone through different types of confrontations and each one has a different aspect to it. Hope that makes sense. Ok, enough of my ranting. On with the story.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**CONFRONTATIONS III**

A while had passed and Jiraiya and the others were ready to head out. They had finished eating and were packing up and were getting ready to get on their frogs and get going. As they were walking towards the frogs and Kiba and Akamaru were walking with each other Shino caught up with Jiraiya. He had already fixed his gourd and was already breaking it in. He had appreciated his team mates comments and praise, but didn't have time to enjoy it much. After all the gourd was a tool as well and it would be wasteful not to use it as soon as possible Shino reasoned. As he walked behind Jiraiya Shino felt awkward he wanted to thank Jiraiya, but didn't really wanna call any unnecessary attention to himself. He debated how to go about this internally and as he finally came to a decision and was about to begin stretching his hand out to Jiraiya, Jiraiya turned around. "Shino your aura is kinda creeping me out. Relax." Jiraiya saw his young companion wanted to say something and asked what it was. "What is it."

Shino suddenly felt a little self conscious. Could his aura be that bad. He remembered it was Jiraiya and thought maybe it was his skill that detected the aura. He went ahead and tried to thank him for earlier. "Arigatou, Jiraiya-san for...ano...everything." He had not told Hinata or Kiba about the letter and for now wanted to keep it that way. He hoped Jiraiya wouldn't say anything either. Jiraiya stopped. They had reached the frogs. Jiraiya turned to Shino.

He put his hand on Shino's shoulder lightly and spoke conversationally. "Don't worry about it Shino." Jiraiya winked his eyes at Shino in a knowing way and then turned around to climb on his frog. Shino was left there with his mouth open momentarily. Did Jiraiya mean that he would keep it a secret did he know what Shino was thinking. Maybe Shino was overthinking it. He shook his head and cleared his mind. He focused on the journey and gathered his thoughts as he began to climb on his frog. The more Shino traveled with Jiraiya the more he wondered about Jiraiya and looked forward to the times ahead. Jiraiya was on his frog and ready to set out. Thinking to himself (Naruto was right that guy is a little creepy, it's a good thing my smile and wink method work for every occasion.)

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Out in the desert Temari reached out and grabbed the person who was sinking in front of her. The water was disappearing and she could see sand dunes emerging from the water from the corner of her eyes. Gai was also now standing on the water with Tenten in his arms. Tenten was unconscious and Gai was walking towards Temari. Temari barely noticed any of this though as her eyes were glued to the person in front of her. It was not Kisame who's shirt she was now grabbing, but somebody she knew. She looked into the young man's face and had a flashback.

FLASHBACK/ We see chibi Temari at a small store, almost a stand. Her hands are on the counter which comes up to her eyes and she peers over. A young man maybe five years older than her is tending the store. He looked down at her and asked, "What can I get for you little girl?" he leaned on the counter to hear what she had to say.

Temari's brow furrowed at this and she responded with a hint of anger. "I'm not little. Where's Mr. Tokuwa? He knows what my mom sent me for." She said.

"Oh, I'll get him then. Please wait right here." the young man said as he turned around and walked out the back of the store. Temari stuck her tongue out at him and raspberried at him when he left the room. A few moments later he re-appeared with an older gentlemen.

"Well hello there Temari-chan, back for the usual I take it." Mr. Tokuwa said. He smiled down at her and she returned the smile. She liked Mr. Tokuwa he had always been nice to her. She nodded her head. "I'll take care of it right away. By the way this is my son." he put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Souzo, one day he'll be running this store." He said he then turned around and began gathering the goods she had come for.

"Pleased to meet you Temari-chan" Souzu said. He put out his hand for her to shake. Temari didn't take it.

"That's nice." She said. She crossed her arms and waited for Mr. Tokuwa to give her the bag of goods. It didn't take long. She paid for the goods and left. That was the first time she met Souzu. They had gotten to be friendly over time, but that was their first meeting./END OF FLASHBACK

Now Temari looked down at the familiar face of Souzu in her arms. A tear started rolling down her cheeks and she wiped it away. Gai was now standing beside her. "What happened to Kisame?"

Temari gathered herself quickly. "He must have been using Souzu as a host. I don't know how, but when we find him. I'll make him pay for this." She said through gritted teeth.

Gai saw she knew the man in her arms and realized she must be going through some anguish over what had happened. He needed her to get it together though. "Temari-san, we have to get Tenten some help. She was wounded pretty badly. I don't know what's going through your mind, but we have to get Tenten to someone that can help her."

Temari held back her tears and realize Gai was right. She lay Souzu in the sand and stood up. "We have to go back to the village and have the medics look at her." Gai turned around intending to go back right away. Temari had a request before that. "Gai, before that can you help me bury this man. Please." Gai saw she wanted to do this out of respect and couldn't bring himself to refuse her request. He gently put down Tenten and together he and Temari quickly buried Souzu. "I'm sorry Gai. I just don't want the village to know what happened, he was a good person and I don't want his memory smeared by this. I hope you understand."

Gai did. "Don't worry about it Temari, this shouldn't take long." We leave this scene and move on. They would head back to the village of sand after the burial.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Chiyo was surprised that Itachi released her. However she was not about to let this chance go. She was planning to show those Konoha ninjas how a real ninja fought. "Fool, you will die for underestimating me." She growled at Itachi. She dipped her hand into her robes with lightning speed and threw three kunnai's at Itachi. Itachi caught all three in one hand. He caught them between his fingers. He saw her flickering before she finished and threw the kunnai's to the spot where she was moving to before she got there. The kunnai's ripped through her robes none of them making contact with her though. She was not impressed at all as she flickered again. Pathetic, she thought he couldn't even hit her. Chiyo tried to bring out her puppets, but for some reason the chakra strings would not co-operate with her. She thought it must be some kind of technical malfunction. No matter she thought she could still handle him. She began to flicker around him wrapping her strings around him. She was surprised at the ease she was moving around him, but then again what could she expect from an inferior shinobi. She pulled on the strings with all her might. The strings cut through Itachi and he fell to pieces. A smile spread on her face. However it was quickly erased as the pieces of Itachi did not make it to the ground, but somehow miraculously turned into black winged creatures and scattered. "What the hell is this?" Chiyo asked out loud. She quickly looked around and found herself completely alone. Her companions had disappeared as well. Had they been swallowed up by the sand she wondered. As she kept looking around her eyes landed on Itachi's back. Her observation was quickly forgotten as she lunged herself towards Itachi. She brought out her kunnai. Itachi didn't move, this was too easy she thought. A shadow moved in front of her as she was about to deliver the killing blow. Her blade instead sunk into this black robed stranger. She looked up to meet the sad gaze of her son.

"Why do you do this? Why do you hate us and try to stab us in the back?" Chiyo couldn't take her eyes off her son as he threw accusations at her. "You are willing to work with the son of the one who killed us so willingly." Finally she looked down as he clasped her hand in both of his. She saw the blood pouring from his wound. (T-this can't be) she thought.

Suddenly her son's hands were gruffly taken by someone's hands. She looked back up to see Kakashi grabbing her son's neck from behind and forcing one of his hands behind his back. She saw a gleam in Kakashi's eyes as if he were taking pleasure in what he was doing. "We have to finish them off Chiyo-san. They're only illusions, remember, my father killed them." Chiyo's hands had begun trembling and she blinked. However when she looked back up it was no longer Kakashi holding her son, but his father the White Fang of Konoha.

"That's right old lady." He said in a slightly deeper voice than Kakashi's. "I killed them, let me show you how." Chiyo began moving trying to stop him, but the White fang was too quick. He quickly used the kunnai now in his hand to slit her son's throat. Her hands landed on his shoulders as his lifeless body fell to the ground.

She fell to her knees letting out a scream. "NNNNOOOOO!" Her breath caught in her throat as the White Fangs laughter reached her ears. She looked up trying to hold back tears. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw that in the White Fangs hands was the decapitated head of her son's wife.

Kakashi's father saw what she was looking at and said. "Once again you couldn't do anything to stop their deaths." He laughed a short bark of a laugh. "How ironic." He tossed the head at her and kept laughing as the head landed in front of her.

Chiyo's mind began going into shock. A child's yell broke into her consciousness. "Nooo!" She followed the voice and saw a young child looking at her. Hate filling his eyes. "You killed my parents. I-I hate you." Chiyo's mind was breaking down by the scene in front of her. Far behind her watching from a safe distance stood Itachi. He was satisfied now and closed his eyes. He disappeared from the scene.

Chiyo was kneeling still, but the scene around her was completely different. Standing in front of her only a few feet in front of her was Itachi. Next to her still immobile were Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura. Itachi said "It looks as if she can't defeat me." he said coldly. He turned to face his other hostages. "It appears she wasn't as strong as she claimed to be. Wouldn't you all agree." He walked to Sakura and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Isn't that right. I wonder how strong are you?" Like Chiyo before her Sakura's eyes lost focus. Naruto and Kakashi however were still bound by the shadow and could not see her. Nor could they talk, to ask her what was happening. Itachi didn't stop to see Sakura's reaction, he judged she was to weak mentally to defeat him. Were she to somehow escape that it would make no difference as she was still bound by the shadow imitation technique. He stood in front of Naruto and Kakashi so they could both see him. "Hello Kyubii, Naruto. Nice to see you're doing well."

Sakura had followed him with her eyes. Burning up with anger at how helpless she was. She held back tears of frustration. Suddenly the last voice she had expected to hear spoke into her ear. It was a silent whisper, but she could recognize the voice. It was Sasuke, "Don't worry Sakura. I'll get you out of here and fulfill my vow to kill my brother." Sasuke put his hand on her shoulder as he started to walk past her.

No she thought. "Sasuke!" She whispered as well as she could through still lips. "Let me help you. Get me out of this jutsu and I can help you." Sasuke stopped. His body rigid, he slowly turned his head to face her.

"Baka, what are you talking about? There is no jutsu holding you." Sasuke said. Sakura thought he was crazy, she turned around to look behind her and saw the Itachi clone was no longer there. She realized this as soon as she began to move her neck, but actually seeing Itachi's clone gone confirmed it for her. Sakura's mind quickly began assessing the situation, but her thought process was broken as Sasuke violently tackled her to the ground. Where she had been standing were a pair of Kunnai's. "What the hell is wrong with you Sakura! Haven't you improved at all?" Sasuke stared at her with what looked like pity in his eyes. He quickly spun around however to see what Kakashi was doing. Sakura followed his gaze and her eyes widened in shock as she surveyed the scene in front of her. Kakashi was on the ground his body bent into an awkward angle she saw the kunnai sticking out of his neck in let out a sharp breath. Barely keeping in a scream of despair. A voice broke into her head before she could assess the situation and she followed the voice to see Sasuke staring down Itachi. In Itachi's hand was a dazed Naruto, Itachi was holding him by the neck as if Naruto was a rag doll. "I won't fail this time. Your life belongs to me." Sasuke said in a cold voice. Sakura saw him, but the voice was not Sasuke, he had never sounded so...venomous.

Itachi tightened his hold on Naruto and looked at his younger brother. In his eyes an expression of disdain. "Your not even phased that I killed your teacher. I'm glad to see your hate for me has brought you to this point, but..." Itachi lowered his head a little bit and focused completely on his younger brother. "you are bound to fail. You've failed before and this time will be no different." Sakura watched as Sasuke visibly tensed at Itachi's words and brought out a Kunnai.

It was happening to fast for her to really take it all in. She knew she wanted to help though and so she got up and ran towards Sasuke and offered her support. "Sasuke, let me help I'm not the same useless girl I was before." She didn't know what to expect, but she was determined to help.

However it appeared Sasuke was not. He turned to look at her and what she saw in his eyes stopped her in her tracks. There was disbelief in his eyes as if he could never see her as more than a useless person. Even though that hurt her to see what hurt her more was the hate. She didn't know if the hate was directed towards her. She tried to reason with herself that it was because he was looking at the person he hated so much that the hate was in his eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to believe that. What she felt was that he hated her, because she had always slowed him down, she had always been in the way. Even now she wanted to help, but that doubt crept back into her mind. She would only be in the way if she got involved. Sasuke said the next few words filled with frustration and a bit of anger. "I...don't...need...your...help." He looked away from her and focused on Itachi. Sasuke's words drained Sakura of all her confidence. She looked on as he charged towards his brother. She noted Sasuke had gotten much faster and was upon Itachi in no time. He swung the kunnai at Itachi. The next thing Sakura heard was Naruto screaming.

"AAAUUGGHHH!" She had not seen Itachi move, but he had blocked Sasuke's kunnai with Naruto's body and with the same speed casually cast Naruto aside. Naruto landed a few yards away from the fight and Sakura rushed to his side. She got down on her knees and quickly began examining him. His breathing was fast and ragged his chest rapidly moving up and down. The kunnai was embedded in his chest beyond the hilt all she could see was the ring at the end. She saw the kunnai had gone through his heart. (Focus Sakura) she thought to herself (You can still save him.) She tried to block out Itachi and Sasuke fighting and focus on Naruto. Whose condition was getting worse by the second. Suddenly there was a bright flash as Sasuke yelled out "CHIDORI!" She couldn't help, but look up. She thought Sasuke was going to beat Itachi. Again she did not see Itachi move. He evaded Sasuke's Chidori and was standing inches from Sasuke now, his left hand on Sasuke's face. Open palmed. Itachi closed his eyes and whispered something.

Sakura strained her ear to hear it and she caught something along the line of "Ametasu." suddenly Sasuke was consumed in black flames. They instantly enveloped him completely and an ungodly scream of pain and anguish escaped Sasuke's lungs. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the screaming didn't stop. Sakura's eyes were glued to the scene in front of her. Suddenly a hand grabbed her hand. She looked down to see Naruto.

She saw there were tears streaming down his cheeks. His breathing was labored. His blue eyes held her attention though intense as ever she saw something in them she never thought she would see in Naruto's eyes. Sorrow. His chest was hitching rapidly and he tried to speak. "I...orry...ouldn't...save...Sasuke." He said through labored breaths. A new pain shot across her chest as Naruto' hand lost it's strength and dropped to the ground and Naruto stopped breathing. His eyes stayed open and her heart felt as if it were shattering.

Tears began to stream down her face. "Naruto don't do this to me...please." She put her hand on his neck. Naruto was dead she looked up and saw Itachi standing over Sasuke's burning corpse. As she looked on Itachi disappeared. Sakura was overwhelmed by grief. She began to cry she hugged Naruto's dead body close to hers and cried into his hair. As she cried the thought that tormented her most and didn't allow her to think was. (They died because I'm useless. I couldn't help them and now they're dead.)

Still standing in front of Kakashi and Naruto Itachi posed a question. "Naruto-kun, will you come with me willingly?"

**PREVIEW**

Do I really have to tell you. Lol, you should know what's coming up next chapter.

**RSO's**

dragonman180- Are you kidding me, Shino is a pimp. It's almost unfair to give him something like a gourd. Poor innocent girls, will they be able to resist Shino. Oh snap now that I think about it how will Jiraiya react! Hmmm sorry can't comment on Itachi yet. It's a secret. About Gai, well Kisame was dead by then so he didn't have to use it. I know it was a little disappointing, but I'll make it up somehow. Maybe a Rock Lee/Naruto sparring? Does that sound cool?

Danny- I knew you were testing my testing of your testing, that was the test from the beginnin. hahaha (does that sound believable. cuz it is. J/K) Ok, that makes sense, Hirai is 15 glad that's straightened out. lol. Damn you're right. I didn't mean it to be a chuckle,maybemore like a hmmph, you know what I mean. I gotta change that. Aaahh! I hope to put in good backstories and whatnot for most if not all the characters. I think that really helps when trying to understand them.

narashikamaru21- Yeah, Kisame got handled up. Sort of...I wish I had killed of the real Kisame, but I might have some use for him later. Multiple ass-whoopings anyone. Lol, J/K. Or am I? Yup, Shino's a pimp. Hmmm, are there really Naruto and Hinata plushies? I've never seen any.

Flamegamer- thanx for the review hope you like this new chapter.

acrazygirlofmanynames- I think that's the longest review I've gotten from you. Badass. You're right damn that Chiyo. I'm glad you and other people like the gourd idea. Lol, I didn't know what everybody would think.

something- Thanx, I don't know what everybody else does in their stories, but I hope mine doesn't take to many of the same ideas. I try to be as original as I can be.


	26. Chapter 26

Ok, so here's the latest chapter. I hope everybody likes it, I was very anxious witing it and hope it all makes sense. Please review and let me know what you all think. OMG, I don't know why but I feel so anxious. (maybe it was the rice I ate earlier)

I don't ownNaruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**ITACHI IN NARUTO'S MIND**

Itachi walked closer to Naruto. He could see the hate in Naruto's eyes and saw his answer. "You would save us much effort and yourself much grief if you came willingly." Itachi said. He knew it was probably futile to try to convince Naruto, but one could never know. The look in Naruto's eyes did not change however and Itachi stepped back. He looked towards Kakashi. "Don't worry Kakashi, I've already accomplished my goal. I just want to gather some information about Naruto right now." Itachi didn't know what Kakashi was thinking, but he hoped he would not have to deal with unnecessary obstacles. Some things just didn't go the way one wanted to though. Itachi glanced at Naruto and saw that Naruto was about to break free of the shadow bind. Naruto's hand was closing into a fist. Itachi could not have that now, he decided to nip the problem in the bud. He took a step towards Naruto and place his hand open palmed on Naruto. Naruto stopped moving again. Itachi had used his sharingan on Naruto he used the same technique he had applied to Chiyo and Sakura, but this one was more concentrated. . Once he had accomplished this he looked back towards Kakashi and saw he was also about to break free of the binding technique. However in his current form Itachi could not use the Mangekyu sharingan. He had to take care of Kakashi before he became more trouble than he was worth though. Not letting go of Naruto Itachi stepped towards Kakashi with a quick step and delivered and open palm blow right below Kakashi's sternum. Kakashi felt the wind get knocked out of him and then a huge impact knocked his jaws together. That was the last conscious sensation Kakashi had. Itachi had delivered a strong uppercut right after the blow to the sternum. With no air reaching his brain it was easier for Itachi to knock Kakashi unconscious. Kakashi had successfully broken the bind technique, but now lay crumpled on the ground. Itachi reached down and tapped him a few times to make sure he was no longer conscious. He then looked over at Sakura and Chiyo to make sure they were also taken care of. Now that that was out of the way he could focus on Naruto's mind.

Naruto found himself in the familiar setting in front of the kyubi's cage. He sat there wondering how he had gotten there and stood up. He felt no desire to speak to the fox however and apparently the nine-tails was not interested in him either. Naruto could feel the hum of power coming from behind the bars which held a seal in front of them. Coming here always made Naruto feel somewhat uncomfortable. He turned around and was about to search for a way out when something happened that sent chills down his spine. A freezing gust of wind blew out from behind the bars, Naruto could feel the cold down to the marrow of his bone. The wind was accompanied by a deep insane laughter. The laugh was deafening and Naruto shuddered. Thinking to himself 'He's lost it. That damn fox is gone insane.' Naruto turned to look at the bars and could see nothing behind them. He decided it didn't matter. He had to find a way to get out of here and help his friends. Urgency gripped him as he remembered the situation Itachi had them in. He took of running knowing that somehow he had to get out of there.

Itachi found himself in the same room as Naruto. He didn't know where he was, but he could see Naruto not more than twenty yards away from him. Itachi was confused by Naruto's actions however. He seemed not to be affected by his jutsu. Itachi wondered if Naruto had gotten so strong as to not be affected at all. Naruto now stood up and turned away from him. Itachi's confusion grew he began walking towards Naruto. He had not taken more than two steps towards Naruto when a giant circular steel bar fell directly in front of him. It slammed to the ground with a loud clang. Itachi could no longer see Naruto. He looked up to see where the bar had come from, but there was no ceiling the bar kept going up and up vanishing into the distance. Suddenly a strong wind blew past him and a maniacal laughter exploded into his ears. He turned quickly to find the source, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere. The laughter continued for a few seconds then as quickly as it had started it stopped. Itachi turned once again to search out Naruto once the laughter stopped, but Naruto was nowhere in sight. The bar had also disappeared. Itachi began to assess the situation when a deep rumbling voice spoke out. "**I...SEE...YOU.**" There was a pregnant pause Itachi looked around again. The question beginning to form in his mind when the voice spoke again. "**I...TA...CHI.**" The laughter erupted in his ears once again. This time it was much shorter though. Itachi had a feeling that he had made a miscalculation somewhere. From behind him Naruto's voice spoke. "**Itachi...I see you.**" Itachi spun around quickly standing there before him was Naruto. Naruto was calmly looking at his nails. When he felt Itachi's gaze on him he looked up. "Hello Itachi. Welcome." Itachi looked at Naruto suspiciously.

"Are you Naruto?" Itachi asked staying composed as ever. He did not know what to expect here, he had never had the sharingan fail him like this.

Naruto grinned a mischievous grin. **"What do you think. You don't see the demon fox's chakra do you? Your eyes should give you that answer."** Itachi saw that Naruto was right. He just couldn't shake the feeling he had though. **"I won't loose to you, Itachi. I will save my friends."** With that Naruto launched himself at Itachi. Itachi saw the attack coming. He was impressed by Naruto's speed, but now he was confident that it was the real Naruto, nobody else would act so recklessly. He sidestepped Naruto's punch with ease. Suddenly a pain exploded in his stomach, he had been punched. He did not see where it had come from, he had dodged Naruto's punch however he was being launched back by this punch. That thought quickly left his mind as he immediately slammed into the steel bar behind him. As he regained his feet he looked up again and saw the bar. 'Where did this come from, I thought it had disappeared'. He unconsciously reached for his stomach. He noticed Naruto looking at him and quickly straightened out. As soon as he looked at Naruto, Naruto threw back his head and laughed first it was Naruto's laughter that came from his throat, but as he kept laughing the laughing morphed back to the loud maniacal laughter Itachi had heard earlier. When he finished laughing and looked at Itachi again his appearance had changed. His incisors had grown sharper and longer, his ears were elongated and pointed back. His eyes usually blue were now crimson red and had thick lines around them (Like Gaara's) the pupils were not round, they were vertical slits, like cat eyes. Itachi now knew he had been tricked he was in the Kyubi's domain. He had no idea how he had gotten there, but now he had to get out. "**You're making me blush boy." **Kyubi said to Itachi. Itachi had been unaware of how hard he was looking at Naruto. The change was hard not to notice though. "**I know what you want boy, but you're not leaving yet." **Kyubi took a step towards Itachi and continued talking. "**I know your desires Uchiha. So why are you so eager to leave don't you want to sample that which you want." **Kyubi mocked. "**See if you can handle it?" **Kyubi/Naruto was now less than two feet in front of Itachi. He came to a stop there and stared into Itachi's sharingan eyes. "**I hate your eyes. It makes me sick to look at something so unpure." **as if to prove his point Kyubi/Naruto looked away from Itachi.

Itachi had never been in a situation like this before and was unsure of how to proceed. He grew tired of the demons mocking though. The fox was right though. Itachi did want to see it's power. When the boy/fox looked away from him, Itachi did not hesitate. He slammed his hand into the fox and used amaterasu. (The black flames.) The flames erupted from his hands and immediately consumed Naruto/Kyubi. Naruto began to scream in agony and began writhing in pain. He did not go down though. Itachi soon realized that the demon fox was once again mocking him. Almost as soon as the thought crossed Itachi's mind the fire on Naruto went out and Naruto stood before him unharmed. "**You messed up my hair, you bastard." **Naruto said casually. Itachi only caught a glimpse of what happened next and instantly knew he had to leave this place. Naruto's hands shot out and tapped Itachi with his fingers five times in five different spots on his body. Itachi saw this, but the speed at which it happened was inhuman. Itachi saw the five touches and the hands begin to withdraw when the first explosion of pain wracked his body. Five craters suddenly appeared on Itachis body and he flew back with equally blinding speed. Once again he slammed into the bar. This time the pain of the impact made Itachi scream. Itachi continued to scream as both of his shoulders were pierced through and pinned against the bar. Blood began flowing profusely down his robe. Itachi was in severe pain, however he stopped screaming and looked at what had happened to him. He saw to red spikes going through his shoulders and when he followed the path of the spikes he saw they were not spikes at all, but two of the Kyubis tails. The Kyubi saw Itachi looking at him and as if to mock him brought out a third tail and began stroking it. "**They're pretty don't you think?...You don't have to answer."** Naruto said. He saw Itachi was in great pain and was not going to answer. "**So you want to know why you couldn't affect Naruto? Baka, you think that if the seal doesn't let me do anything to him that you with your weak jutsu's would be able to touch him?" **Kyubi walked to another bar that had appeared and looked at it with hate in his eyes. "**That detestable seal." **A thin smile formed on his face. "**The conditions are improving little by little though." **The demon fox turned to look at Itachi once again and started walking towards him. No longer was a smile on his face. "**You know what really pisses me off though?" **Itachi had no idea, he no longer cared. For the last few moments he had been waiting for the clone on the outside to break contact between him and Naruto. However nothing was happening. Pain shot across his face as his lower jaw was dislocated. Kyubi/Naruto unleashed a powerful backhand. The demon fox gave up using Naruto's voice and spoke to Itachi in his normal voice. **"YOU PISS ME OFF!." **The Kyubi's voice boomed. **"Waiting to be saved, nobody can save you here. YOUR LIFE IS NOW IN MY HANDS, FOOL. I ALREADY DESTROYED YOUR LITTLE CLONE!" **Itachi's eyes widened at that, could the Kyubi do that? He asked himself, he was not aware of this. How could that be? Itachi's dislocated jaw was forgotten as he tried to find an answer. The demon fox reverted to speaking in Naruto's voice once again. "**It is interesting isn't it. I just recently made the discovery myself. Whenever the boy's mind lapses I can influence his actions...I almost made him kill somebody today." **He said almost as an afterthought. "**The boy is opening doors for me without knowing it as he accesses more of my chakra. It's not much, but its a start." **Naruto looked at Itachi with an evil gleam in his eyes. **"Do you know what this means?" **He asked Itachi. The implications of what the Kyubi was saying were far reaching and he would have to digest the information later, but Itachi's eyes widened once again as he realized the immediate implications of what the demon fox said.

Itachi's anger grew even more at the humiliation the fox was putting him through. He had dislocated his jaw and asked a question. Itachi had to struggle not to let his frustration show. He had to clear his mind and see the situation immediately. The fox had access to Naruto's mind and could influence him when Naruto wasn't aware. He wondered how the fox could do that, but that was an issue for later. Itachi now saw or thought he saw what it was the fox wanted him to know. Itachi had sent Naruto into his own mind so Naruto was not aware of anything outside of his body right now. Itachi was in pain and even though he was sure the fox knew what he was thinking he sensed that the fox was now waiting for an answer. Itachi did not want to waste time as long as he was in here he could not see what was going on with his body and if what the fox said was true than Itachi was in more danger than he thought. Itachi could not speak loudly so he whispered as clearly as he could. His head was bowed and he didn't make eye contact with Naruto/Kyubi. "You are...in control." Itachi whispered. It seemed that this was indeed what the fox wanted. He was in front of Itachi with a disturbing smile on his face.

"**Did you say something. I couldn't hear you. Oh I see your jaw must hurt, here let me fix that." **Itachi was expecting further humiliation and closed his eyes in preparation. What he did not expect was the fox to actually heal him. Not after he was the one that caused the damage in the first place. Yet a warmth spread through Itachi's jaw and the pain seemed to melt away as the Kyubi's hands lay on his jaw. Itachi opened his eyes and saw the fox still standing there still smiling. **"Now, what was it that you had said?" **The Kyubi asked.

Itachi slowly flexed his jaws to make sure this wasn't some sort of trick by the fox. He saw that his jaw was really healed. He did not know what to make of this. To what extent could the fox use it's healing powers? Itachi was impressed, yet he was beginning to loathe this creature in front of him. He answered again this time in a louder voice and made eye contact with the fox. "So you are now currently in control of Naruto's body. Have I inadvertently released you?" Itachi asked. Not knowing what to expect if he had.

The fox did not laugh this time and he looked at Itachi with renewed interest. **"You really don't know do you? Only the brat can undo the seal now. His chakra is a component of the seal. Oh that is classic. Do you really think that if you freed me we would still be in this cell, or that you would still be alive? No, even in this state I can only push the amount of Chakra Naruto can channel through." **A wide smile spread on Naruto's face revealing fox's teeth. **"That will be enough to destroy you though. You didn't think I would let this information get to the real you did you?" **The demon fox noted the minute widening of Itachi's eyes and interpreted them correctly. **"You of all people should know that time works differently in the mind. I've put a block around the prison so that you...hmmm. I don't need to explain anything to a dead man. Do you want to see how I destroyed your clone?" **The Kyubi asked. Itachi did not respond he knew he was about to die now. He only hoped that this demon said was not true and that he could not reach the real him. The fox did not remove the two tails that were pinning him to the bar. Instead he maneuvered them around himself so that he could turn around. When his back was turned to Itachi the demon fox spoke to Itachi one last time. **"This is gonna be fun, as soon as I destroy you I get to race the brat and see how long I can control his body before he's aware. To bad he'll know the situation's changed. I bet I can pull off a jutsu before he wakes up." **The tails piercing Itachi burned for a second as the Kyubi exploded back to it's original form. Itachi stared at the huge monster in front of him and for a moment felt insignificant in it's presence. The Kyubi's voice spoke to him though. Breaking through all his thoughts. **"Lest I forget my manners... boy. Thank you for breaking my monotony." **Four tails shot out at Itachi, before he could form a thought the tails pierced him and tore him apart. His limbs began to fall and disintegrated as the fox began to move with blinding speed.

Kakashi was coming around. Slowly he opened his eyes slightly. He gathered his thoughts and re-assessed the situation. He remembered how they had so easily been caught and his failed attempts to break the bind technique. He felt the last attempt had been successful though. He knew it was because otherwise he wouldn't be on the ground. He had to find a way to get them out of this mess. His slowly looked around and saw Itachi's feet. He followed Itachi's figure and saw that he still had his hand on Naruto's face. Dammit he thought. What could Itachi be doing to Naruto. As much as he wanted to just jump up and fight Itachi he had to make sure everyone would come out of this alive. He noted Itachi's eyes were closed as he was focusing on Naruto. Kakashi now had to find the clone that had placed the shadow bind on them. He grabbed a handful of sand slowly and remembered where everyone was positioned. He quickly got up and threw the sand where the clone should have been, but there was nothing there. He looked around quickly and then looked at Itachi. As he had looked around he saw Sakura and Chiyo on the ground. He had hoped they were still alive. He saw no sign of the clone and hoped against hope that he was not around somewhere. He slowly began to take a step towards Itachi hoping not to attract his attention. He was somewhat surprised that Itachi hadn't notice him yet. "Hang in there Naruto." Kakashi whispered. What happened next was extremely unexpected. As Kakashi looked at them he saw a smile come onto Naruto's face underneath Kakashi's hand. Next Itachi's eyes flew open and seemed to try to regain their focus. Suddenly Itachi's body folded his back bending back unnaturally and the next second the rest of his body caught up with his back as Itachi's body was launched into the air. Where Itachi's body had been was Naruto's fist. Kakashi was stunned, he looked at Naruto's eyes and saw they were blood red. Red chakra beginning to leak out of his pores. Kakashi didn't know what to do he called out to Naruto. "Naruto!" For a second Naruto paid no attention to Kakashi. He only looked at Itachi's flying body and whispered something Kakashi could not hear.

Kakashi followed Naruto's gaze and saw Itachi. Kakashi's eyes were glued to Itachi's face. It was beginning to change. Just as Kakashi was observing this a low rumbling came from inside of Itachi. Suddenly Itachi imploded. His body seemed to be crushed into a ball. When it looked like Itachi would begin folding onto himself, he suddenly exploded. It looked like a small sun burst where Itachi had just been breaking Itachi to pieces and the energy of the sun seemed to be burning the pieces of what was left of Itachi and making them disintegrate. Kakashi had no idea what he had just witnessed, but nonetheless it was extremely unsettling. Kakashi looked back at Naruto. He saw Naruto looking at him with a look of utter confusion on his face. His eyes were once again his blue eyes and in and anguished voice Naruto asked Kakashi. "W-what happened?" Kakashi felt extremely inadequate at that moment. He had no idea what had happened.

**PREVIEW**

How will everybody deal with the events that have happened recently.

**RSO'S**

dragonman180- Is she? Is she really? Muahhahahahaha...So what if she is. Shino has to have someone who's safe from him. Even old people mess up sometimes. She was too arrogant though. Hmm. Damn you, once again pointing things out that would have helped me before I wrote the chapter. I forgot that the shadow imitation could be broken like that. Phew, hopefully I covered my tracks well in this chapter. Considering we don't know how much total chakra Itachi really possesses I think he could handle it. Oh,... I hope I did a good job in this chapter.

narashikamaru- Yeah it does, poor...everybody. I hope I didn't disappoint. (Itachi did get his ass handed to him though.)

causeiambetta- Thank you! I think so too. I won't be able to explore that right off the bat, because of the mission in all, but once things settle down I think everybody will have things that they will have to re-assess and think about.

narutofan101- Well, he is, in my story anyways. Kinda... I know he sounds like a perv. but like I said give him time. He is multi-facetet. (hope I spelled that right)

reikage-sama-lordspirit- Yeah... sort of. It was all in her mind so I don't know all the technical implications yet. Ummm...but it wasn't like what really happened to them if that's what you meant.

danny- Yeah, right now she probably won't deal with it because of everything thats going on, but you never really know how she will deal with what happened. Oh the dead body was basically a host body that Kisame was using. Poor guy. Hopefully I can explain it well in the next few chapters. Done!

acrazygirlofmanynames- Oh, wow. I wish I had know that before I wrote this chapter. Then I could have made him suffer even more. J/K.


	27. Chapter 27

Ok, here's the newest chapter. Sorry, I felt like I had to provide some closure so this is kind of slow and also I didn't just want to go on a team eight drought. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter though. The next chapter should be posted up soon. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**LEAVING THE BATTLE**

Jiraiya and team eight had covered decent ground. He decided it was time to stop for dinner and take a break before continuing. He came to a stop at the next clearing and signaled to Shino and Hinata to stop. He dismounted his frog and waited for Hinata and Shino to do the same. Jiraiya noted that Shino was not as worn out after each leg of the trip. He was impressed at how quickly Shino had began to use the gourd effectively and was conserving chakra. He walked over to Shino and commented on this. "I see you are conserving your chakra with with the use of the gourd. Were your insects really consuming that much chakra?" He also asked.

"I never really noticed. They have always been with me so I was used to it, but now that they are beginning to get used to the pattern I'm asking of them the difference is quite surprising." Shino said. He thought about it and realized the truth to his answer. He also thought about how he would have to work out a better schedule for his insects once they had more time. Probably when they stopped for the night Shino would communicate with them to see what the best solution would be for a permanent basis. He himself was still getting used to the gourds weight and the straps feel around his chest he tugged on the gourd's strap for a little bit and then asked Jiraiya. "So is this a normal stop or are we stopping for dinner?"

Jiraiya thought Shino's answer made a lot of sense. Jiraiya never had to deal with that type of situation so he could only imagine Shino's situation. He nodded his head and answered Shino. "Yes, I think it would be a good time to stop and eat. It's best not to eat right before we sleep so we'll eat now and this will be our last long break until we set up camp for the night. Don't worry, we'll find a good spot later on to make camp." He then looked over at Hinata who had dismounted her frog and was sitting down. He decided to go see how she was doing as well.

Hinata was rubbing her thighs and was absorbed in her own thoughts. She didn't notice Jiraiya walk up behind her and jumped a little bit when he spoke to her. "How are you feeling Hinata. Are you having any problems?" Jiraiya asked, he noticed her rubbing her legs and was genuinely curious as to if she was having no problems riding.

She let out a sigh and saw no reason not to tell Jiraiya. "My muscles are feeling a little tight. I was having a little trouble at first because I was gripping Tenma's vest and it moved a lot so I used a lot more energy trying to stay balanced than I should have." Hinata should have seen that problem right from the very beginning, but she felt her mind wander and it took her longer than it should have to find the problem. It wasn't until after lunch that she began to focus on the task at hand. She reasoned with herself that she had been worried about Kiba and Jiraiya's relationship and it put her mind at ease once again after her talk with Kiba. She told Jiraiya what else was on her mind. "My leg muscles feel a little tight and I'm worried that I might be sore tomorrow." She wanted to say she felt like such an idiot, but she didn't want Jiraiya to think bad of her.

Jiraiya listened to her and found himself liking her manner and way of talking. A soft smile formed on his face as he began to speak to her. "Don't worry about that Hinata." He got down on his haunches and began going through his pack. "I have an ointment that will help with the muscles. I'll give it to you now. You just have to apply it before you go to sleep so that it can seep in while your muscles rest and help them heal. It should really help." He pulled out a small bottle and handed it to her. "One more thing Hinata, don't feel bad if you're not riding perfectly. Riding frogs is not something easy, you're doing a great job." Hinata blushed a little bit as she took the bottle.

"H-hai, arigatou...Jiraiya-san." Hinata was not used to getting compliments and it felt a little awkward having Jiraiya-sama giving her one. She couldn't deny that it did feel good though. She focused on the bottle in her hands hoping that Jiraiya didn't see her blush, much less comment on it. However Jiraiya seemed not to pay her much attention as he was already getting up.

"No problem Hinata." He was turning around to leave, but he stopped. "Did you have a talk with Kiba earlier?" He didn't turn around.

Hinata couldn't tell what his tone implied. She started feeling like maybe she did something wrong. She knew it would be best to be honest though. "H-hai." She said hesitantly now gripping the bottle tightly not knowing what to expect.

Jiraiya turned around with a fake pained expression on his face. "Why would you do such a thing? Don't you have any faith in me? Do you know Naruto? I dealt with him for three yrs." He stuck out his hands towards her and put up three fingers. "Naruto, I mean there's no way in hell Kiba could be worse than Naruto. For three yrs. I dealt with him!" Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god that ordeal's over with...what was I talking about again?" He touched his finger to his lips in a thoughtful mood. "Oh yeah, well thanks for talking to Kiba. It will make it easier to deal with him. Speaking of which he's almost here so I will have to have a talk with him as well." With that said he turned around and left her alone. Hinata had no idea what to think. Jiraiya-san was weird she thought to herself. A thought suddenly crossed her mind as she watched Jiraiya leave. 'is this what Naruto thinks of me I'm not weird though. I don't think so anyways. So that means tha Jiraiya-san isn't weird either.'

Hinata explored that thought further and realized that the reason that Naruto may have thought she was weird was because he didn't know her well enough. A smile spread on her face and she whispered to herself. "Arigatou, Jiraiya-san, I think I had an epiphany thanks to you." Jiraiya began to set out the food. Hinata put up the ointment and went to help him, she felt much better now. As she was about to help him, Kiba appeared.

He was running next to Akamaru and as he transformed to his human form he loudly said. "So what's cooking, old man." A vein popped up on Jiraiya's forehead, but he didn't respond. He instead began muttering to himself. Something about three years.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That bastard. Kisame thought to himself. I'll find him and kick his ass soon. Kisame had been in a foul mood after he had his fun cut short. He and Itachi were sitting miles away from where the Konoha shinobi were. Itachi was still on his little mission while Kisame's anger rose as he replayed the way he lost in his mind. Nobody laid hands or feet on him like that and lived. He remembered catching a glimpse of the girl, but had forgotten about her in the heat of the moment. He didn't mind her killing his host as much as he was pissed at that thick eye browed, skinny, no style, bad hair cut bastard. Oh how he wished he had used more chakra so that he could have toyed with them longer. He was thinking about going after them himself right away, but there was the issue of dealing with Itachi afterwards if he did, and if the rest of Aketsuki found out it would be even more troublesome. He took out his sword and began swinging it furiously in an attempt to relieve his frustration. Not only at that Konoha ninja, but also at Itachi for taking so damn long. He looked at Itachi and yelled at him. "Hurry the hell up so we can do something already!" Kisame was still fuming a few moments later when he heard a sharp intake of air. He looked at Itachi as he clutched his stomach with his arms. However the moment quickly passed and Kisame had to wonder what caused him to clutch his stomach like that. "Welcome back. What's the word?" Kisame asked.

Itachi wondered the same thing. He had cut the connection between him and the host at the last moment, but his chakra had felt the impact of Naruto's punch and felt something beginning to happen to his stomach. He struggled to understand what it was that had happened. He remembered sending his chakra into Naruto's mind, but for some reason it had been cut off. Itachi had never encountered that before and tried to penetrate whatever barrier had sealed Naruto's mind to try and extract the information he wanted. His attempts had been unsuccessful however and that is when Naruto retaliated. As he went over the events in his mind he knew that the Kyubi had had a major hand in what had occurred. "Nothing concrete, we have to monitor Naruto more closely though. It appears there is a lot of information we have to gather on his relationship with the Kyubi." Itachi relaxed and stood up calmly. "My encounter with him raises a lot of questions." He said.

Kisame put his sword up and scrutinized Itachi. He never knew how much information Itachi held back. As he looked at Itachi though he could tell that Itachi wasn't withholding any information. He found this interesting, extremely interesting, but he knew better than to push the subject. "That's interesting, we have much time to figure it out though. Maybe that is why we were told that the nine-tails is the last youma we would pursue. Makes me think our _leader _knows more than he lets on. Don't you agree?" Kisame didn't like conceding that he followed somebody else and always used the word with a hint of venom. However he could not deny that he was impressed by the scope of the leaders strategic talent. Until this recent turn of events with the one-tail everything had gone off without a hitch. Even this though was being taken care of though. Kisame put this out of his mind though, it was useless to worry about things he could not do anything about.

Itachi listened to Kisame's comment. Even though Kisame wasn't always the smartest in the group he had nailed something he said right on the head. "You may be right. He may know much more than he leads us to believe. Yet all our our goals in one way or another go hand in hand. Once we accomplish our missions...nobody knows what will happen." Itachi looked at Kisame and waited until they made eye contact. "Or would you like to share your plans with me?" Itachi knew no answer was forthcoming, but it was no waste of energy to ask.

Kisame chuckled a little bit and looked at his partner. "Maybe later. I will tell you this though, I should have used more than 35 of my chakra on the host. I wouldn't have lost had I had a little bit more chakra. How much chakra did you use?" Kisame asked.

Itachi answered. "I don't think it matters how much of my chakra I would've used. I would have always been at a disadvantage because I didn't know what I was dealing with and even at full strength I don't think I can compare to the nine-tails."

Clever as always, Itachi, Kisame noted. You evaded the question with ease. Kisame raised his eyebrows however at the information that Itachi revealed. This was information he hadn't heard before. "So you encountered the Kyubi?" Kisame asked almost enthusiastically.

"I'm not sure, but I do believe his presence was there." Itachi answered.

Kisame was eagerly awaiting elaboration and when he saw none was forthcoming he changed the subject. He rubbed his head and said. "So how about Sasori's jutsu. It was very impressive huh? I never thought that I would feel the host's pain through the chakra, but it was amazing having that kind of control over his puppet."

Itachi concurred by nodding his head. His mind went back to the cave where Aketsuki met and their meeting with Sasori right before they left.

FLASHBACK/ Itachi and Kisame approached Sasori in the cave. Itachi spoke first. "I assume you know where we're going. Do you have anything that will assist us?" Itachi asked.

Sasori turned to look at Itachi, debating if he should help them. "The desert is a huge territory and I'm sure you can find them on your own." Sasori observed Itachi to see if he showed any reaction, but Itachi was glacial as ever. "So I am to assume you want something that will make your endeavor easier?" He asked. Itachi nodded. Sasori smiled and continued. "I do have something I've been working on that may be of use if you are interested. Are you?" He asked.

Itachi did not trust the smile on Sasori's face. "What is it?"

Sasori looked crestfallen, "I take it you're not interested in the help I have to offer then." Sasori was beginning to turn away from them when Kisame spoke up.

"We're interested, just tell us how it works and we'll give it a test run." Kisame said. He didn't trust Sasori either, but this an opportunity to see Sasori's talents. Kisame also knew that Sasori's methods were effective though. He did not feel like letting this opportunity pass, regardless of what Itachi thought. Itachi however put up no objections.

Sasori turned around to face them once again a gleam in his eyes. "You'll enjoy this then. I have... puppets scattered around that I've been working on and they may be closer to your prey. I mean targets. I could let you use them." Sasori said.

Itachi quickly asked. "What's in it for you?"

Sasori responded almost innocently. As if he was shocked at the accusations. "I wouldn't think of charging comrades like that. What do you take me for?" Sasori paused to see if they responded to this, when they did not he continued. "Now that you mention it though. "I haven't had the opportunity to use them in a serious mission so this would be a good time as any. If you are successful and my puppets survive... I would only want a report on how they worked. Any kinks, noticeable drawbacks, things of importance that would help me in furthering my techniques." His eyes narrowed as he spoke and looked at the two shinobi. "However, if for some reason the puppets did not survive, the information would still be owed along with a favor to be paid at a later date. Nothing big just a favor that pops into my mind later. I'm not asking too much, or am I?" Sasori finished.

Itachi and Kisame thought about his offer seriously. Sasori was a worthy opponent, but he knew he could not force them to do something for him. Criminals though they may be a debt is a debt and loath it they would, but they would pay what was fair. Also, if the puppets survived their would only be minimal compensation required. After a little while Itachi spoke. "We accept." He said. Kisame nodded his head as well.

Sasori had then given them instructions on how to control the puppets with their chakra. He explained how it was an advanced technique based on the chakra strings. It was much more complex though and the complete effects of such an operation were yet unknown. He then had them put a percentage of chakra into a device that transferred it directly to the puppets. He had told them how they could cut off the flow of chakra and start it back up and said that they should put in as much as they wanted so that they could transfer that amount to the puppets. Once all their dealings were done and they were about to leave Sasori called to them. "Don't forget our arrangements. I would hate to have to remind you later." With that they left./ END FLASHBACK

"Yes, Sasori is quite the genious. It seems that the next time we see him we'll be in debt to him." Itachi thought about it and spoke to Kisame. "I think he used us though. Not only did he have us perform the experiment, but he also earned a favor."

"So now what?" Kisame asked. "Should we go after them and complete our mission." He asked hoping for an affirmative.

"There's no reason for that. We accomplished our mission. We wait until somebody gets in touch with us and let's us know the next step. Until then we are free to do as we please. Except engage our targets directly." Itachi looked at Kisame guessing what he wanted. "So we can't risk going after his friends for now either. That would almost certainly result in engaging with the nine-tails and at this proximity we may risk engaging with the one-tail as well." Itachi finished.

Kisame wanted to poke a hole in Itachi's argument, but knew Itachi had the reason this time. "I guess my little revenge can wait for now. I won't be denied forever though." With that they turned around and walked off into the desert. Leaving our story for now.

**PREVIEW**

Can our heroes make sense of what happened and move on?

**RSO'S**

reikage-sama - No problem. Thanx for reviewing.

narashikamaru- Thanx, I had fun coming up with this chapter. There are alot of things that I didn't include. I didn't want to be to hardcore. I'm glad you feel better though.

danny- well after reading this chapter you should know Itachi didn't die. You're slacking Danny I thought you would have caught the changing of the face Kakashi saw right before Itachi kicked it, or should I say his host. You gotta respect the nine-tails man. IT'S THE NINE-TAILS. Sorry... I just think he's awesome, yes it will be a he and he will play a big part in my story. Thanks for the review though, hopefully you'll enjoy the future chapters more. I really value your comments and would hate to...you know stop seeing them. Sorry, not to good with explaining what I mean sometimes, but I try.

dragonman180- Sorry, Itachi's not dead. I dunno, I never said he could control Naruto's body, remember had it not been for Itachi's jutsu the fox could not exercise that much control. I'm glad you liked the last chapter though.

causeiambetta- Thank you. Not for hating me, for the compliment. lol. Well, I didn't have Itachi get his nuts kicked in so your idea is still pretty original. lol. Ummm...I hope you don't cut yourself on my behalf.

acrazygirlofmanynames- yeah, sorry I had to do that to your favorite character. but kyubi needs to play too. Thanx for reviewing.


	28. Chapter 28

Here's the latest update hope everybody enjoys.

I don't own Naruto, but if I did this is how it would go.

**MOVING ON**

Naruto had run away from the Kyubi's cell not knowing exactly what to do. He knew he had to find a way out, but he had never been put in this type of situation before. As he ran he tried to think of Jiraiya's lesson's maybe something that would help him. As he went through his memories he remembered Jiraiya talking about Gen-jutsus. He focused on that memory and tried to remember the details. He became frustrated as he could not remember all the details. However he remembered the general idea. Gen-jutsus manipulated the chakra in your head, yeah that was the basic idea. He knew Jiraiya had told him a whole lot more, but he couldn't recall any of it. He did remember that it was something simple that he had to do. He stopped running down the giant hall and focused. He had to try and cut off the flow of chakra going into his mind. He tried to relax and focus on the task at hand, he put his hands together and began to meditate. He breathed deeply and began to think about his body and visualize the chakra pathways. He then tried to make the flow of chakra stop by relaxing all of his muscles and slowing his breathing, he remembered that this would slow down his bodily functions and make it easier to deal with the chakra. Once that was done he tried to visualize the chakra and its flow and then visualizing nothing. He hoped that what he was doing was right. He remembered that he was in his mind and he thought if he blocked the chakra from his mind in this state in this manner it would slowly come to a stop. He knew he didn't need to do it for long. He just had to make a short break in the flow.

He did this for a few minutes or what felt like minutes to him. However it felt as if all his attempts were in vain. He thought he was having some success at first, but then other thoughts began to spill into his mind. The urgency to get out of there began to increase again. After a while of trying this Naruto got up he didn't know if he was doing it right or not, but one thing was clear. He wasn't going to succeed like this. He tried to remember how it happened, but he couldn't recall if Itachi was making contact with him or if it had been some sort of long distance jutsu. Naruto remembered Jiraiya mentioning that if the caster was making contact then one could not break the jutsu from within one's mind. Naruto grabbed that thought as hope and knew that had to be the case. He had to find another way to escape. "Dammit, dammit, dammit! I gotta get outta here!" Naruto yelled. He punched the wall closest to him and began to run once again. As he was running he caught glimpses of things out of the corner of his eyes. He didn't stop to look down the branching halls where he saw them instead he pushed on. He had a feeling that at the end of this giant main hall was a way out. He had a gut feeling about that and Naruto knew that gut feelings were usually the right ones. He picked up his pace and was running as fast as he could, but he could see no end in sight. He kept running for what felt like a long time though. After what seemed like hours for him he finally ran into a huge doorway. It seemed out of place though, Naruto had no idea why this door was here. He felt he needed to get to the other side though. He searched around the doorway to see if there was a hidden handle or something that would open it. There wasn't. He began berating the door with punches to no avail. He began yelling at the door cursing it for being in his way. He finally had enough he yelled. "YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME! HELL NO!" Naruto began gathering his chakra and formed a rasengan in his hand. He quickly thrust it into the door, but on impact the rasengan dispersed, energy flying through the door. Naruto had felt a tremble though. He formed another one and slammed it into the door again. Again he felt the same results. He tried it three more times in quick succession and each time the same thing happened. The giant door would tremble, but show no sign of opening or breaking down. Naruto decided he needed a full head of steam. He ran back the way he had come a few hundred yards. Then he whispered to himself. "I won't fail this time!" He began charging the door, when he was about a hundred yards from it he began forming another rasengan, he planned to slam it into the door at full speed. However, when he was about fifty yards from the door he saw it disappear. He did not stop running however and did not disperse the rasengan. He ran at full speed and burst through the door. He did not notice the seal on the floor that disappeared as he stepped over it. As soon as he stepped through the thresh hold he was blinded by the bright daylight on the other side. The next thing he saw was Itachi's face distort as he was crushed and then exploded. Naruto was stunned and wondered to himself 'was that my rasengan?' He quickly realized it hadn't been. He was extremely confused and began to look around him. He saw Kakashi not standing too far from him begin to turn to look at him and a question escaped his lips. "W-what happened?" Naruto heard his voice and it's tone felt unfamiliar to him.

Kakashi had seen the events unfold in front of him and his mind quickly went into overdrive trying to make sense of it. He was beginning to assume that Naruto had used the Kyubi's chakra to do what he did and that it was some high level jutsu he had learned while training with Jiraiya. However, he was still bothered by the toothy grin Naruto had displayed right before he took out Itachi. His assumptions were further shaken by Naruto's question.

Naruto wanted to hear what Kakashi had to say, but as he looked past Kakashi his eyes fell on Sakura and he quickly ran around Kakashi and went to his friend. "Sakura!" He said when he reached her.

Kakashi's mind settled a little bit. Naruto must have meant what had happened to Sakura. Whatever the case was Kakashi made a mental note to have a discussion with Naruto as soon as possible. He turned to follow Naruto though, he didn't want Naruto to get hurt because he didn't know what he was dealing with. He yelled at Naruto who had brought Sakura to a sitting position and was about to wake her. "No, don't get in front of her like that. She may still be recovering from whatever Jutsu Itachi used on her and if you wake her up like that she might react violently and you would get the brunt of it. Naruto got up and moved around so that he was standing to her side and began to shake her gently. Kakashi thought Naruto had it taken care of and walked towards Chiyo. Another thing Kakashi noted was that Naruto seemed to have no idea what Kakashi was talking about when he mentioned Itachi's jutsu's Naruto should have shown a little recognition of it. Kakashi's mind was not at ease, but they could not waste anymore time. They had to get the Kaze-kage back and his feelings may just be in his head. He could explore that later. The mission came first.

Sakura felt like she had been crying forever. Lost in her own ineptitude. Crying into Naruto's hair. She felt the shaking and it annoyed her. After a few seconds though she realized that there was nobody there to shake her. She stifled her tears and looked around her once again. Nothing had changed. She blinked her eyes repeatedly and finally her eyes fluttered open. At that moment the brightness of the sun washes away her illusions. As she looked around her to see who was shaking her relief washed over her as she saw it was her friend. Sakura threw her arms around Naruto's neck and pulled him close. "I'm so glad you're alive Naruto." She said. Tears of relief were running down her cheeks as the realization that they had survived an encounter with Itachi and the scenes she had experienced were only hallucinations. Naruto had no idea what she was talking about, but he was glad she was okay.

"It's okay Sakura. I'm glad I'm alive too." He said, not knowing how to really handle the situation, he was about to return the hug when Sakura broke off and wiping her eyes began getting to her feet. Naruto began to follow when they heard the scuffling noises and both turned to look in Kakashi's direction.

Kakashi was weary of Chiyo. He remembered how she had acted the first time they met and was unsure of how she would react when she awoke and saw him. He pulled down his mask revealing the sharingan just in case and proceeded to shake her. It didn't take long before she came to. However when she turned to face Kakashi there was no gratitude in her face only an intense hatred and she did not wait to act on that hatred. As soon as her eyes found him she pulled out a kunnai and swung it at him. He parried her swing though and they began to tussle. It was not a great fight just an short grappling match. She knocked Kakashi down and fell with him and started rolling around in the sand trying to kill him. He didn't want to do anything to harm her seeing as how she was a part of the mission and if he hurt or killed her ties between the leaf and sand would deteriorate. He just tried to keep her from doing him harm and waited for an opening to subdue her. However before that opening presented itself Naruto and Sakura were dragging Chiyo off of him. They each grabbed an arm and hauled her off. Kakashi thanked them and Chiyo let out a scream of frustration. Kakashi got up and dusted himself off. He looked at the old woman and sighed, he had no idea how to deal with her. This was the second time she tried to attack him. He was beginning to grow uneasy about the mission, he could not work with someone he didn't trust. He asked her in an exasperated voice. "Why do you hinder our mission like that? We are only trying to help, yet you treat us like the enemy." Kakashi wanted to resolve this as soon as possible so they could get going.

Chiyo stopped struggling and looked at Kakashi with suspicious and hateful eyes. "How do I know that! I don't know any of you, why should I trust you! Our villages can't co-exist for long, we've fought wars before. How do I know that you honestly want to help our Kaze-kage!" She finished venomously.

Kakashi's face fell, how could he make her believe them. She had such deep seeded distrust towards them and they were short on time. He needed her to co-operate, but they were short on time and even if they weren't he didn't know if he could successfully convince her. Luckily it appeared that he would not have to.

Sakura saw the same dilemma's as Kakashi and was even more lost for ideas. She just wanted to yell at the old hag and tell her that it should be obvious that they wanted to help. That they hadn't come all this way to manipulate them, but she felt that would be unsuccessful. As Sakura tried to think of something Naruto began to speak. She looked over at him and saw a solemnity she had not seen before. He was very serious and when he began to speak his words made her wonder what he had been through to be able to speak like that.

While Kakashi and Sakura tried to think of something to say to Chiyo, Naruto did not think long. He knew they needed her for some reason and in order to gain her trust they had to be honest. Naruto didn't know what to say, but he began trying to convey his ideas and thoughts regardless of that. "I...I don't understand why you harbor so much hate towards us. We have only recently met yet you act like we're the ones responsible for your pain." Chiyo turned to look at him as he spoke. "We haven't done anything to deserve your hate and you know what I don't care if you want to hate us. We have a mission to complete though and we need your help. You speak of wars and things between our villages, but it's because of hate that we fight each other. We've been at peace for a while, but if we did go to war it would be because of people like you. People who can't trust others, people who hold on to old hate for no real reason. Whatever happened, I'm sorry you had to go through it, but you gotta let it go. A ninja's strength comes from overcoming obstacles and growing stronger from them. If you can't over come your hate you will forever be weak Chiyo-sama. We don't need a weak Chiyo-sama holding us back." Naruto said.

The truths Naruto spoke stung Chiyo, but she wasn't about to be lectured by some snot nosed brat. "Don't lecture me boy. Why would you and your village want to help our Kaze-kage! You can't give me a good-" Chiyo didn't get a chance to finish as she was cut off by Naruto.

"Urosai, shut-up you want a reason then shut-up and listen!" Naruto yelled he began to speak again this time with more of an edge on his voice. "When I met Gaara over three years ago I thought he was a killer, I thought there is no way me and him have anything in common. He's a monster I thought, but you know what me and him do have something in common. We had just had minor details that changed our lives. I want to help him because he's the only other person I've ever met that is like me. He's the only one that can understand what I've felt like in my younger days. I know it doesn't mean much to you, but Gaara is my friend, he has been long before he was Kaze-kage." Naruto stopped he had nowhere else to go. He let go of Chiyo's arm and Sakura followed his example. Chiyo did not fight them anymore she looked at this boy, Naruto with a new interest. How is it he knew Gaara, and more importantly...

She asked Naruto. "What is this thing you say that you have in common with our Kaze-kage?" She asked this expecting a childish reason, not the answer that she received.

Naruto's eyes were saddened when he once again spoke and the emotion was on his voice as well. "We... we both lived lonely childhoods. Outcasts, not because of anything we did, but because of something that was inside of us. Gaara has one and I do too. Inside my body resides a youma." He said solemnly.

This bit of information shocked Chiyo. She had been the one that put the youma in Gaara and that Konoha had one as well was news to her. She immediately doubted Naruto and quickly shouted. "Liar! Prove what you say to me!"

Naruto had come this far he saw no reason not to prove it to her now. He reached under his jacket, shirt and everything else and lifted it displaying his stomach. He moved in front of Chiyo so she could see the faint markings that had began to become visible during his travels with Jiraiya. Kakashi had also come around to look at the markings. The markings of the nine tails seal weren't supposed to be visible. Dammit he thought, he was at a lack of information. He knew there was a lot of catching up to do with Naruto once this mission was over. Sakura had no idea what it was that Naruto was showing to Chiyo, she could barely see faint markings on Naruto's stomach, they looked like spots where the skin was visibly different. Darker, somehow. Chiyo's eyes had widened in recognition of the marking's in her younger days when she was younger she studied with somebody who had scrolls of high level seals. That person had taught her the seal she had used to bind the Shukaku to Gaara. This person had never taught her this seal, but she remembered it clearly. It was the seal of a death-god and she only knew of one clan that could do such a technique. She looked at the seal and uttered the name of that clan. "U- Uzumaki. I.. I apologize." She said she bowed her head to Naruto and felt foolish. If the Uzumaki's had made their home in Konoha then they could have crushed the sand on a whim. She had been foolish not to know this and even more foolish not to recognize that she had been traveling with one of theirs. Naruto looked at her with amazement. He had no idea what had brought about the change and gave it no mind, he was just thankful she was going to help. Kakashi and Sakura also paid it no mind assuming that Chiyo had been briefed on who they were before they set out for the mission. They didn't really question her change of behavior and hoped that it would last until the end of the mission.

Chiyo got up and made a silent whistle. A few seconds later the small ferret once again ran towards them. Chiyo picked up the animal and seemed to whisper instructions. She set the little animal down an turned to her companions. "We should follow now." Kakashi and the others were stunned by Chiyo's actions, they were uneasy, but they saw no reason to waste time. They decided to follow her.

Rock Lee and Neji had been running for a while now. Neji had been using his byakugan to follow the faint disturbances in the sand that indicated they had been traveled on. He thanked whatever Gods there were because the winds weren't blowing. He hoped they would catch up to the others soon. As they ran Rock Lee asked a question. "Neji, do you think the other's will be fine without us?" Rock Lee had total faith in Gai and the others, but he just wanted to be reassured.

Neji didn't know their enemy had released an insane amount of chakra and barely broke a sweat doing it. Even though he was confident in his companions skills he had no idea how powerful their opponents were. He was in fact worried about them, but he knew Gai would do what was best. He knew what Rock wanted to hear though and saying it actually lifted his spirits a little bit. "I'm sure they will be fine. Gai is our sensei after all." As he said that he picked up something moving on the sand with his Byakugan. 'oh no, he thought the wind is picking up. We can't find them like this. It was true that the wind was now blowing. They had a major windfall though, as they reached the floating object Neji recognized it was a piece of cloth with the same design as the robe their enemy was wearing previously. He turned on his byakugan to full strength and scanned the landscape around him. He saw four dots on the horizon. They did not waver or stop and Neji hated to get his hopes too high, but a smile formed on his lips and he turned to Rock Lee. "I think we're catching up to them. Let's go."

**PREVIEW**

What will our heroes encounter next. A conversation with Kiba?

**RSO'S**

dragonman180- Thanx for the compliment. I try. lol. Only time will tell.

causeiambetta- Thanx. Good point though, some stories would be better if they had slow chapters.

narashikamaru- Yeah, knowledge rules. I'll try to put some more in. In later chapters.

danny- I'm glad you liked how I described the characters it's always cool to know you did somthing right. Thanx. Shino and the others will begin to develop other skills now that their with Jiraiya so hopefully you'll enjoy it.

acrazygirlofmanynames- cool beans. Thanx for the review.


	29. Chapter 29

Ok, everybody. Here's the latest chapter. Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long, but a chunk of my life was swallowed up by a black hole I refer to as Madden 06. I'm over it now so I hope everybody enjoys. Please, review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**TALKING**

After they finished eating dinner. Jiraiaya looked at his companions and asked. "Shino, Hinata, could you please put everything up? I have to have a talk with Kiba." Everyone looked at him with mild surprise. Why did he want to talk to Kiba? There was a long pause as they waited for an explanation, but none was forthcoming. Instead he got up and looked at them and asked. "So can you?"

That brought them out of it. Kiba was most interested, but he was the one that was about to talk to him so he needn't ask. Hinata answered however. "Hai." She shot a look at Shino and finished. "We'll take care of it." She got up and began to pick up. Shino hesitantly got up and began helping her.

Jiraiya looked over at Kiba and asked him to follow him. "Alright follow me. Akamaru can come too if he wants. Though it isn't really something to do with him." Jiraiya turned around and began making his way across the clearing. Giving Kiba and Akamaru time to decided on whether they would both go. Kiba ended up following alone. He followed Jiraiya to a smaller clearing, Jiraiya put his scroll on the ground and used it like a log sitting on it. He turned to Kiba and said. "Take a seat Kiba." Kiba did so curious as to why they were out here. "I know you're curious about what I wanted to talk about so I'll get to the point. Hinata talked to you earlier, I don't know what she said exactly, but I have an idea. Anyways, I know you didn't choose to come out here with me, but for the time being we're a team. So I called you out here to get to know you a little bit better." Kiba didn't fully trust him, but he didn't say anything. "I would ask you what you think of me, but I don't feel like getting insulted right now. So instead I'll ask do you understand why I've done the things that I've done?" Jiraiya asked.

Kiba let out a hmph, but tried to answer as best he could. "You wanted to test us. Is that it? Whatever, all you really wanted to do was piss me off and you succeeded. Happy now." He said.

Jiraiya hmphed right back at him. "Wrong. Pissing you off was just a bonus. It's true I did it so that I could see where you all were at and other various measurements of your skills. However the other reason I did it is so that you guys could reflect on your own skills and deficiencies. I split each of you up and attacked individually to give you a chance to gage yourselves in an individual environment." Jiraiya could see that Kiba didn't really care about this so Jiraiya kept going this time with a little edge in his voice. "You know why I did that?" He asked.

Kiba looked at Jiraiya dead in the eye and said. "I don't need to know why a weird person like you does what he does and frankly I could care less."

'Restraint Jiraiya, restraint, don't kill your team mate' Jiraiya thought to himself. "You should care, you know why I called you out here before Hinata?" Jiraiya didn't give Kiba the time to answer. "It's because you're the weakest in the group! I'm here to try to help, if you don't want to better yourself fine. Hinata will take what I say seriously and take advantage of the help I'm offering. Shino is the most complete shinobi in your group so he's already on the way to getting better. You on the other hand are too stubborn to even know what it is that you need help with!" Jiraiya said, almost on the verge of yelling.

Kiba wasn't about to let this bastard talk to him like that. "Old man you don't know anything about me! Don't talk to me like that!" Kiba yelled at him.

Jiraiya didn't yell back instead he met Kiba's eyes and said in a much calmer voice. "I know how to kick your ass. Don't I? I know something about you alright, I know that you can't do anything to stop me from whipping your ass like a dominatrix." That shut Kiba up.

Kiba knew that was the truth, even though his pride didn't want to accept it. His mind and body knew this was the truth, even though he didn't know what a dominatrix was, it sounded pretty bad. Like a sullen child he sat down and said. "So what?"

Jiraiaya looked at the young shinobi and knew he wasn't hopeless. "Like I said earlier, I'm willing to offer you help, it can't hurt to listen. I'll make a deal with you. If you can find out your biggest weakness by tomorrow and swallow your pride enough to tell me what it is you want me to help you with...then you will only have to pay for half of the meals you were supposed to pay for. Does that sound fair?" Jiraiya said that as he was getting up.

Kiba stayed sitting down looking sullen as ever. "Whatever...I'll think about it." he said.

Jiraiya picked up his scroll and swung it onto his back once again. He then began walking back to the camp and in an almost enthusiastic voice called back. "That's good kid. We gots to get going now. We gotta make tracks if we wanna get to where I wanna get to tonight!"

After a few seconds Kiba got up and began to follow. He looked at Jiraiya's back and muttered under his breath. "What an asshole."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Naruto had no idea what had turned Chiyo around, but he felt they were making progress and he was loving it. Even though he knew this was a dangerous mission he couldn't help but enjoy the wind rushing through his hair, the strain of his muscles, the anticipation of a battle. Knowing that he could do that in order to help someone he cared about just made it that much sweeter.

While Naruto was looking forward to the encounter, thoughts and replaying all the events leading up to this were occupying Kakashi's mind. He wanted to stop and get everything in perspective, yet the mission was urgent and time was of the essence. There were so many questions they brought up he would rather have answered before their encounter. He went through his memories an plucked the most recent one out. Naruto and Sakura seemed not to notice, but Kakashi had seen it clearly. When Chiyo laid eyes on Naruto's seal there was definitely recognition in her eyes. Not a vague recognition, but almost as if she saw a ghost of her past. This seemed to have been the turning point in her attitude and he had to make sure it wasn't some sort of act she was putting on. He moved closer to Chiyo as they ran so that they could speak. "Chiyo-san I have a question. How do you recognize the seal on Naruto's stomach?" Kakashi asked.

Chiyo looked at Kakashi briefly and didn't answer. She had been thinking as they were running and even though she knew she wouldn't get over the resentment she had towards this mans father she came to see that he knew nothing about it. She didn't feel like answering his question, but as she thought about it, it seemed like a small request and remembering the boy's words she decided she would answer. She searched through he vast storage of memories until she found the ones she wanted. "Long ago, when I was a young girl myself, before the last great shinobi war I saw it. Not on skin of course. I studied under one of his clan members, masters of seals they were. I learned the seal I used to seal the Shukaku in Gaara from him." As soon as those words left her mouth however she was violently grabbed by the cuff of her robe. Intense power coming from the boy who now had her in his hands.

Naruto had been traveling a little behind them and had not been paying much attention to what they were saying. He became curious quickly though, thinking maybe they were about to discuss a strategy on how to handle the mission. However as he came within earshot the news that he heard were not what he had expected to hear. ' the seal I used to seal the Shukaku in Gaara.' The implication of her words hit Naruto immediately and the anger rose in his chest to fast for him to prevent him from thinking it through. He was instantly in front of her grabbing her robes in his hand murderous intent in his eyes. She met his eyes, fear beginning to come into them when Naruto began yelling at the top of his lungs. Completely unaware of the crazy chakra that his body was giving off. "YOU DID THAT TO GAARA! YOU BITCH!" He planned to go on yelling at her, but he was tackled by Kakashi before he had a chance to do so.

Kakashi couldn't believe she was going to answer him. When she did start speaking though it was information Kakashi knew would be of relevance later on. He was listening intently and was completely taken by surprise by Naruto's actions. He had no idea what Naruto was thinking, but Kakashi knew that he was once again acting recklessly. Kakashi wasn't about to let Naruto's impulses ruin the mission after coming so far. He tackled Naruto as he was yelling at Chiyo. Kakashi looked down at Naruto and saw his eyes shut tightly, Kakashi didn't know if he was right but he thought that Naruto was holding back tears. "What's wrong with you Naruto." Kakashi's worst fear came bubbling to the top, was the Kyubi taking over Naruto. Naruto's response put that fear to rest though.

Naruto had indeed held back tears of frustration. He had gone through so much and all that because of the damn seal on his belly. He knew the pain Gaara had gone through and at that moment when he heard her saying that so casually he felt hatred for her and acted on impulse. Even though he had successfully reigned in his emotions, his thoughts were still the same. "How could she say that so casually." Naruto said through gritted teeth. "Gaara's gone through so much. How can she say that like it's nothing Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi looked at his former pupil and his heart felt heavy. Even though he had been through so much he still had a lot of innocence in him. Kakashi tried to explain it to him as best he could. "Naruto, I'm not going to stand up for her actions because I don't know her motive. I will tell you this though, nobody realizes the full extent of the repercussions of their actions. You can try to explain it to others, but to them the pain you feel is an abstract concept, only those who have gone through it know what it really is." Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder in a friendly gesture. "I know you deserve a better explanation, but now is not the time. Gaara is counting on us Naruto, we have to make haste." Kakashi liked the determination he saw return to Naruto's eyes.

Naruto knew Kakashi was right. He stood up and waited for them to get up and then he looked at Chiyo and said "I won't apologize for my actions. After this mission we should talk." Naruto said.

Chiyo felt chills hearing him say that in that tone. Not because of the actual threat in them, but because they reminded her so much of somebody from long ago. She did not respond however, instead she gathered herself and began to run once again, quickly finding the ferret and following it. Kakashi in the others once again began to follow.

Kakashi was still interested in what Chiyo had to say. He moved closer once again hoping that Chiyo would again talk to him. He hoped the incident with Naruto would not have pissed her off to the point she wouldn't talk. He got close enough and apologized for Naruto. "I'm sorry about Naruto's actions. This is personal for him." Kakashi said.

Chiyo looked at him and kept running. It wasn't a long wait before she spoke though. "There's no need to apologize, I can understand where he's coming from. I don't take what I did to Gaara lightly. However it had to be done. I can't imagine what they go through and if Naruto hates me for it, I can't say I blame him." Chiyo said.

The response took Kakashi by surprise somewhat, he had not expecte the response he got. It made him more confident she would not be against continuing her story. He broached the subject once again. "So you were telling me about how one of Naruto's clan taught you the sealing technique." he asked.

Chiyo let out a loud hmph. "I never said he taught it to me. I learned it from one of his scrolls. It was never his intent to teach that technique to me." She answered. That was all she said.

FLASHBACK/ A young Chiyo was sneaking into her room, she went to her desk and unrolled the scroll she had taken from her teachers study. He was away and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. She had gone through most of his scrolls and that is where she had seen the seal on Naruto's belly. At the time however she could not understand all the language of it. So she didn't take it. Instead she kept going through his scrolls until she found one she could understand. She stole out of his study and now in her room she unrolled it to study it more closely. She was fascinated by the scroll in front of her. She knew she would have to return the scroll soon so she took out one of her own scrolls and began copying the contents of the scroll by hand. It took her almost half a day to finish her task and when she finally finished it was already four in the morning. She rolled up both scrolls and hid her copy. She would return the original when she awoke. She fell asleep almost immediately. She looked at her watch and began to panic, it was already noon. She got her bearings quickly though and realized that she had to take the chance that he hadn't returned yet. She quickly dressed and returned the scroll. He had not returned her mission had been successful.

Her teacher didn't return for another day after that. She breathed a sigh of relief and thought herself in the clear. That day as she sat in class she remembered him walking by her desk before the class began. He looked down at her with eyes that haunted her for a long time and put his hand down on her desk. "Chiyo, after this lesson we should talk." She remembered not being able to pay attention to anything that day. She remembered the anxiety that she felt after class walking to his office and the desire to run away. The feeling of being foolish, for her nervousness, because she had nothing to worry about.

She remembered going into the office. She didn't remember anything about the room and very little about her teacher. The only thing she remembered was his eyes. That's the one thing that followed her for years after that experience, that and the power he showed.

She took a seat in front of him and he began to speak. "Chiyo you remember you weren't going to be in my class?" She nodded. He continued. "You remember how you begged me to get you in here?" She nodded once again. "You remember I spoke on your behalf to allow you to join my class?" She nodded once again. "Then why?" He asked.

"Why what?" She asked playing innocent.

"Why do you betray my confidence? Am I not teaching you enough?" He looked at her with those deep blue eyes.

Chiyo wasn't about to admit anything. "What are you talking about sensei. I didn't do anything wrong." She said.

Her teacher took this in and let out a long breath. "Chiyo, this is the last class I will be teaching. After this I am leaving." He said.

She thought he was joking. "Why are you saying that." She asked.

He looked at her seriously. "Because I am no longer happy here. I am returning to my clan. However the only thing that should concern you is that you will no longer be a part of my class." he said.

Chiyo was stunned. "W-WHY SENSEI!"

He calmly said. "I already said it you betrayed my confidence, I won't teach someone who insults me. Now leave." He said.

"I didn't do anything sensei. I swear." She said.

Her sensei stood up. "Stop it Chiyo, stop lying to me and leave now." he said.

She yelled at him. "I DIDN'T LIE!"

Anger came into his face. "You expect me to believe you, you keep insulting me!"

She wasn't about to get kicked out of the class that easily. "NO I'M NOT LEAVING! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" She yelled at him. She immediately regretted that decision. Fear gripped her as she saw her teachers eyes change. She would never forget that. Those eyes with the gold irises that formed a cross would never leave her memory.

"Can't I?" he said almost casually, anger underlying his every word. Fear gripped her as she began to feel his chakra. It was almost palatable at that point. She didn't remember what happened next, but woke up in the hospital two days later. When she asked what had happened, nobody told her. Nobody seemed to know or maybe they were to afraid to do so. She never knew which it was. However she never went near his class after that and what he said was true, after the class was finished he disappeared. /END FLASHBACK.

Kakashi was still waiting for her to continue and after a while when she didn't he asked again. "So what happened?"

Chiyo looked at him and said coldly. "I don't remember." That was the end of their conversation.

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Rock Lee and Neji were still running at full speed. Neji saw the dots begin to grow and as they ran began to take shape. They must have stopped he thought. He and Rock Lee weren't about to stop though they raced towards the figure. After a few moments they began to move again, but at this point a grin crept onto his face. "Lee we've found them, I recognize that disgusting orange outfit anywhere." Neji said.

Rock Lee smiled at that. He let out a loud whoop of joy. He jumped in the air and yelled. "WE'RE COMING NARUTOOOOO!" He began to laugh as they ran.

**PREVIEW**

Enemies await in the sand. Unexpected re-union.

**RSO'S**

dragonman180- Oh, I don't think so. I dropped a tidbit, or maybe a bomb in this chapter. lol.

demon of konoha- Were? All the members dead and gone? Are you sure about that? lol, am I teasing you hard enough yet? J/K. Who knows. I want to explore their history though. I think theres alot of things that would be interesting about them.

acrazygirlofmanynames- Thanx, I hope this one was great too. Was it? lol.

causeiambetta- yeah, mytery is a good thing, it keeps everyone guessing.

shiboito- thanx for the review.

danny- Thanx. Actually it was Itachi that made it appear. His jutsu makes it so that Naruto was trapped in his own mind. So in a way it was hiding Naruto from Itachi. Yeah they are and it's only beginning. MWUAHHAHAHAHAHA. yeah, its about time she stopped being a hag. lol. Not a problem, hope you did well on your finals.

warprince- Ey I remember you. Do you only review when I take a long time in updating. Lol, well thas cool, thanx for reminding me to update soon.

jeefus- Oh happy days. I'm glad your enjoying it. I think they'll get a chance to talk soon, it's just been so much going on they haven't been able to really sit down and have a pow wow yet. Oh, god if you only knew the things I had in store for Sakura. Wait till she finds out all about Naruto. I know I'm sorry, I didn't think it would take so long to get them together, but I'm setting it up so that they have a... well, I guess I really shouldn't talk about it yet. Sorry, my grammer sucks, I'm so sorry, I try though. Hmm, I don't know about making the chapters longer yet. I'll have to really think about it. About the updates I try to update once a week, sometimes more if possible, but I have a hectic life so there isn't always a guarantee when I'll update, but like I've said before. I'll definetely finish this arc.


	30. Chapter 30

Here's the latest chapter, hope everybody enjoys.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**FAMILY REUNION IN THE DESERT**

The meeting between the members of Aketsuki had been finished for a while now. Outside of the meeting place sat Deidara standing next to her was Sasori they were looking down at the lifeless form that was Gaara in front of them. "Yeah... that was unexpected. Did you expect it?" Deidara asked waiting for Sasori's opinion. She was sitting on the beak of a giant clay bird her elbows on her knees looking down at their victim.

Sasori looked at her with a little incredulity on his face. "Of course that was unexpected. The question is what do we do now. Do we take care of him somehow or do we let him go and re-capture him again when we figure out what's to be done?" Sasori responded.

Deidara seemed to have already thought about this. "I had fun getting him. Yeah. We could drop him off somewhere and get him whenever we need to." She said quickly. "Besides I hate to babysit, its too... cumbersome. Yeah...that's a good word for it." She lazily got a small stone from the ground and tossed it at Gaara. "You really think that the seal was manipulated by the brat and the rodent?" She asked getting up.

Sasori had been thinking about this ever sense their leader had picked it up and now spoke about it. "When you take into consideration how long these creatures have lived. The amount of knowledge they posses can be staggering, I wouldn't find it out of the question that maybe, just maybe he convinced the boy to allow him to do so. I don't think the boy has the brains to undertake such a complex maneuvering without killing himself or damaging the symbiotic relationship they share." He looked at the boy and considered the other question at hand. Deidara had a good point babysitting was annoying. "If you drop him off make sure he doesn't die. The last thing we want is for all our efforts to go to waste by killing the container and releasing the youma. We would have to hunt it down all over again. Other than that I don't care what you do with him. After all it's your Jinchurikki."

Deidara had her clay bird open its mouth and picked up Gaara's lifeless form and began to drag it towards the bird. As she was about to toss him into the birds beak Sasori put up his hand. She stopped and looked at him. "What is it? Had a change of mind?" she asked smiling now.

Sasori didn't look at her. "Baka, don't you sense it we're about to have company." Sasori said.

Deidara's smile disappeared instantly she dropped Gaara and turned to her companion. "Don't call me that! So what if we're about to have company we can take care of them easy, yeah. What's the big deal!" She asked with a note of annoyance in her voice.

Sasori was sometimes perplexed as to why she was even a member of Aketsuki. "They have a Jinchurikki with them." He now looked at her. "Are you seriously telling me you didn't sense that?" He asked.

Now that he mentioned it she did sense something coming towards them. She had paid it no mind though, because they would be gone before they got there. She had missed the Jinchurikki's presence among them until just now that Sasori made mention of it. "I sense it, now. So what does that mean? Is it the one you couldn't find come to find you or what?" Deidara said nonchalantly.

That pissed Sasori off, he had searched for his target for a long time now. Long before she ever joined the group. However he never knew it would be so difficult to find his target. While she on the other hand had the easiest time considering that her target was the Kazekage of his old village. He didn't let this bother him though. Opportunity was presenting itself and he wanted to take advantage of it. "It doesn't matter if it was my target or not. If we capture it here, then it's mine by default." He looked at her with renewed interest. "Do you think you're up for it. You caught the one tail rather easily. This one may be a better challenge for you." Sasori said.

Deidara looked at him with suspicion. "Why would I want to capture it? I've already got mine." She said.

Sasori looked away from her. "Oh, that's okay, if you're not up to the challenge I can do it myself. I just thought if I isolated it you would want to try our your skills on it. After all you wouldn't be able to blindside it or anything." He said.

Deidara wasn't being fooled. "You're not going to manipulate me like that. Just ask nicely and I'll consider it, yeah." She said, she wasn't going to admit it, but his proposal had intrigued her.

Sasori let out a caw of a laugh. "So be it." They began discussing their strategy. Two lonely figures in the dessert in front of a cave.

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Kakashi and company came abreast a sand dune and looked ahead to see the top of a large rock. Judging from the distance he saw that they should be coming up to it shortly and that the landscape would change slightly. Already he could feel the ground becoming harder and was sure that up ahead would be a dry stony area. He looked at his companions and took a deep breath. He had a feeling that they were about to have a difficult confrontation. He only hoped they would be successful.

As they went over the next hill they looked down and saw the true size of the rock. It was about the size of a small mountain and at the foot they saw two tiny figures. Suddenly one of the rocks standing beside them shifted and as they all squinted to see better they realized it was a giant bird shaped something. "What the hell is that Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto asked, he had never seen anything like that and neither had anybody else on the team, but for some reason he thought he would get an answer.

Kakashi looked at Naruto wondering if it was just a rhetorical question, but when he saw it was not he sighed and answered. "Beats me, Naruto that's the first time I've ever seen anything like that." Kakashi said. Kakashi looked around and saw there was nowhere to take cover, they would be seen regardless of what they tried. He hoped they hadn't been spotted already. He turned to his comrades and said. "We don't have much time to strategize however it looks like they're not guarding any entrance so they must either know where Gaara is or have him themselves. It looks like we can't avoid a confrontation with them so the objective would be to subdue them and get information, or if we're lucky defeat them and retrieve Gaara. Any questions?" Kakashi asked. Naruto and Sakura both nodded their heads in understanding.

"Aye, I have a question." Chiyo said. She was not looking at Kakashi or the others and asked her question. "Who is best equipped to deal with an enemy that can fly?" She then pointed to where the two figures had been standing.

Kakashi and the others followed her finger and saw only one figure now standing there. The other one had disappeared. Kakashi had only to look up to see that the large bird they had seen was now carrying the other person and it looked to be headed their way. Dammit Kakashi thought to himself this presented a problem. Sakura was not suited for long distance attacks and Chiyo and he were the best suited to handle whoever it was heading their direction, but he didn't want to leave Sakura and Naruto alone. He looked at Naruto and wondered briefly about how much he had progressed. "Naruto, do you think you can deal with her?" Kakashi asked. Meaning Chiyo. Naruto had no qualms about it as long as they got Gaara back.

"Hai, I have no problems." Naruto said. He was already beginning to tense for battle.

Kakashi hoped his strategy worked. "Good, if we get split up I want you to go with Chiyo and fight whoever that is coming our way. Me and Sakura will search for Gaara. Kakashi thought this would be the best way, because he wanted Sakura with him if they found Gaara. Her medical skills could become useful then and he hoped that they were the first ones to get to Gaara if he was there. He also put his faith in Naruto hoping he was making the right decisions.

Naruto quickly drew four kunnai and threw them. Everyone else was caught off guard. They all spun around in time to see four small explosions. Sakura also threw two kunnai that set off the small bombs that had been flying towards them. They were all alert now.. Spotting the enemy headed their way.

Deidara saw them all take out her small clay birds. She thought to herself, 'this should be fun. I wonder which one is the Jinchurikki.' She focused in on the two young ones and saw immediately that it was the boy. 'So this is the one. Doesn't look much different than the one tail' she thought. She took a deep breath and embedded her fingers into the bird. When she pulled her fingers out she was holding what looked like a crude spear. She had taken clay from the bird and molded it with her chakra. She then pulled her arm back and launched towards her target. She began making hand signals as she flew closer.

Naruto and the others quickly threw their kunnai's at the spear, but it didn't stop it. Naruto saw it was aimed at him and quickly jumped out of the way as the spear buried itself into the ground where he had just been standing. Kakashi looked at the spear and identified it. "It's hardened clay." Before he could observe it any closer however a females voice spoke from above them.

Deidara had gotten very close to them and was hovering at a safe altitude. She got on one knee on the bird and created an opening in it's head so she could reach in and grab Gaara. She thought it funny that they didn't attack right now that she was in a somewhat vulnerable position. One of them was turning to look at the spear the boy had dodged while the two girls looked at her to see what she was doing. She pulled out grabbing him by the elbows and held him up so they had a good view of him. She held in in a manner that made him look like he was crucified in the air, his head dangling. She yelled out a challenge to the shinobi below. "You got some skills, yeah. You got enough skills to get him back!" She dropped Gaara and he fell neatly into the hole in the birds head. She immediately formed a seal and began flying back the way she had come from.

Naruto and the other began moving towards her before she dropped Gaara, but as soon as she did there was an explosion right behind them. The spear had exploded and a profusion of clay birds had broken off from the spear and were now flying around. Naruto had been knocked forward by the blast as had the others and now began to move forward in order to create room between him and the birds. The others were doing the same thing. They could not get rid of the birds at such close range without setting them off and hurting themselves. Naruto knew he had the best shot of taking them all out so he called out to Kakashi and the others. "You guys go on ahead I'll cover you and catch up when I'm done here." He turned around and faced the oncoming birds already forming his seals.

Chiyo looked at Kakashi and asked. "Is that wise, can he handle it."

Sakura was the one that answered. "Of course he can handle it. We have faith in him. Now its our turn to handle our part." Sakura said with a determined look in her eyes she turned and started to follow Deidara's bird. Kakashi moved to follow, he was impressed by Sakura's newfound confidence and hoped it was authentic. Chiyo really had no choice but to follow. She didn't see the point in staying if the Uzumaki boy could handle the task.

As they were turning to leave behind them there was a giant poof as a large cloud appeared blocking the way between the birds and the others. The birds hovered for a second when out of the clouds began jumping Naruto clones. The birds began evading the clones as explosions started going off as the clones began making contact with them. Naruto held his ground and opened up his jacket revealing a belt that was rowed with kunnai's there must have been at least fifty kunnai in total and he began to launch them catching the birds his clones were missing. The birds were not slow however and his job did not turn out as easy as he had hoped as the birds keyed in on the real him and flew in closer to him. He was deftly dodging the birds all the while his clones being destroyed. He couldn't keep count in all the action, but it appeared as if the birds were outnumbering his clones. 'Dammit he thought, he should have made more clones and made them better' The clones he was using were taken out by the impact of the explosions. Time started going by as he dodged and weaved through the birds unable to create more clones and taking them out as well as he could. After a few minutes it seemed there was only three clones left and about twelve clay birds. Naruto's jacket was slightly singed from nearby explosions and his frustration was beginning to climb a little bit. He didn't want to waste anymore time here. However he did not become upset knowing that the mission was in the hands of people he trusted.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Kakashi and the others were running full speed trying not to loose sight of the giant bird. As they ran Kakashi couldn't help, but feel as if they had forgotten something very important. It wasn't until they were almost at the foot of the mountain that he remembered. There had been two figures there. Where had the second one gone. He began to slow down so he could scan the area, but saw nothing. As they drew closer though Kakashi could not overcome the feeling he had in his gut. He yelled out to Sakura and Chiyo. "Stop, I think we're being lured into a trap!" He said, he knew that had to be it. Chiyo and Sakura looked back at their companion waiting for an explanation. "They knew we were coming there were two of them when we got over the last dune. The other one must be waiting for us up ahead. We can't fall for whatever trap they have." He finished.

Sakura was looking back towards Kakashi and saw something behind him. "It's too late Kakashi-san. We need to worry more about getting out of it now." she said.

"What are you talking about Sakura?" Kakashi asked. She didn't need to answer though. As he turned around he saw Sasori standing by a large stone. Kakashi's thoughts darkened. He should have been paying closer attention. He thought the feeling he had was that they were headed into the trap when in fact it was that they had just entered whatever trap they had set up for them. The person was walking slowly towards them. As he walked closer what seemed to be a giant snake began rising behind him. As he drew closer Kakashi saw that it was more like a scorpions tail. He figure was wearing a hat with bell's just like Itachi's and Kakashi instantly knew this guy would not be easy to deal with.

Sasori walked up to them and stopped about ten yards away from them. He had a suspicion that his grand mother was with them, but the appearance of Kakashi had taken him by surprise. He noticed the pink haired girl as well, but was only interested in the other two. "So you are the white fang's child. Isn't it ironic? Your dad killed my parents and now, I can return the favor." Kakashi's eyes widened, he didn't know who this was, but obviously he knew of his father. Kakashi still had no idea who his father had killed. He assumed it must have been someone important in the village of sand for so many people to know him. Sasori then looked at Chiyo. "Hello, obaa-chan... I'll be taking your life as well. How low you've sunk that you would cooperate with you'r child's killer." He said this last part with venom in his voice. He then looked at Sakura, she had no idea what was happening. "Your going to die as well. Wrong place at the wrong time I guess." He said.

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Neji and Rock Lee had seen most of the events unfold as they drew nearer and now were almost close enough to finally step in and help the others in their mission. They both wore intense expressions on their faces. Neji didn't turn to face Lee. He simply asked. "You ready Lee?"

Lee was more than ready. "Hai." With that they charged in to aid Naruto.

**PREVIEW**

Battles in the desert and high speed chases.

**RSO'S**

danny- What are you talking about, you must be seeing things. Neji didn't say Rock Lee, he did say Lee. J/K thanx for the reminder. Poor Chiyo, it might be too late for her to really learn new tricks. Kiba will hopefully get in line and do well. Wow, that's probably better than what I ever got. lol, dont drink too much. Already.

dragonman180- thanx, oh not for a long time. remember he doesn't even know about it yet. Hopefully soon, this arc is finally over the halfway point and once I squeeze enough foreshadowing they can finally get back to the village and do the dew. lol.

acrazygirlofmanynames- yeah, they're finally here.

jeefus- thanx, I think he will be pretty surprised. Nope Jiraiya doesn't know anything about them as of yet. That was the first thing he heard, he didn't hear anything they were talking about before. You know what I mean like as he got closer that was the first thing he heard. Keep in mind they were travelling pretty fast. Ok, I'm going,going,going. Energizer bunny. Thanx, I'm glad its alright with you.


	31. Chapter 31

Well, here is the latest installment. If you'll notice this chapter is longer, don't think that will be the case, I'm not trying to spoil you guys. I just wanted to get the fight all in one chapter. I'm kinda anxious about what everyone thinks and I hope I did this fight justice. Let me know what you guys think and enjoy the chapter. I also put in some notes at the end so hopefully they'll help.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**SASORI'S FIGHT**

Naruto was almost finished taking care of all the birds when the final two that were right behind him exploded. Naruto stopped and looked to see what happened. His first thought that the bastard on the bird had come back. He spun around instantly ready to attack. The sight that met his eyes though was a welcome one. There standing before him was Neji and Rock Lee. A giant smile spread on Naruto's face as he began running towards his friends. "Neji, Lee, man it's good to see you guys!What are you guys doing here!" He asked as he came up to them. He swung his arm in a wide arcing motion and slammed it open palmed into Rock Lee's hand. Rock Lee saw what Naruto was doing from the get go and swung his hand to shake Naruto's as well. They both were standing there smiling.

Rock Lee responded to Naruto's question. "We were sent to help you. The hokage-sama said that your tr-" Neji had put his hand on Rock Lee's mouth preventing him from telling Naruto the truth. He held out his other hand to Naruto to take while he pushed Lee to the side.

"It's unfortunate we had to meet under these circumstances Naruto, but what Lee is trying to say is. The Hokage believed your team would need back-up as soon as possible." Neji didn't feel to bad about this because it was true. He didn't like holding information from someone he respected, but he knew that if they told Naruto it might compromise the missions. He was glad he had been able to stop Lee from doing so. "Tenten and Gai-sensei were with us as well, but they ran into an obstacle and may or may not be able to catch up to us." Neji hoped for the former, but didn't want think about it, he didn't want to be distracted. "They briefed us at the village of sand, but we need you to tell us what's going on now and how we can help." Neji said, all business. Right behind him stood Rock Lee listening to everything that was said. He was just coming to understand why Neji hadn't allowed him to tell Naruto their mission and was once again impressed by the genius of his partner.

Naruto was amused by Neji's actions, but that amusement quickly passed as he listened to what Neji had to say. He wondered if whatever trouble they had run into was of any consequence to their mission, but trusted that Gai would handle it. He couldn't worry about that as it was, they had their own mission to take care of. "Hai, Neji, this is what's happening."

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Chiyo had not expected to run into her grand-child on this mission and briefly thought if it was fate that made this happen. She quickly got over that as she realized what he was doing as he came towards them. He was preparing to attack. She quickly tried to brief the others on what was happening. "Kakashi, Sakura this is indeed my grandson, however that which is in front of us is a puppet. He's operating it from within. There are various devices and traps to be weary of. Don't let them touch you, they all more than likely are poisoned." She wanted more time to explain more to them, but she would have to buy them more time. Sasori was now before them speaking.

Sasori had seen Chiyo speak to them before he got close to them, but he disregarded it. Knowing wouldn't really do them much good. He then told them why they would die. They all looked at him extremely tense. He had so hoped they would try to make the first move, dealing with three people that were waiting for the attack was so bothersome. He finished telling them why he would kill them and said. "Now, die." He fell forward catching himself with his hands and launched his tail at Chiyo. This was done in the blink of an eye, however Chiyo managed to flicker out of the way. Sasori wasted no time in redirecting the tail and swinging it towards the girl. She seemed foolish enough to think she would break it with a punch. Before the tail landed though it was pulled to a stop. He knew what had happened almost immediately. Chiyo must have left chakra threads where his tail passed through before she flickered. His right arm shot out and instead of a hand on it there was what appeared to be a cylinder with holes on it. He pointed it at Chiyo knowing she was going to have to make a choice either she released the tail or she would die. The cylinder launched at her with great force and she moved to dodge it. Once she realized what it was she released the tail. The cylinder shot darts and small spiked balls through the holes. Chiyo was barely able to dodge them all. Holes appearing on her robe where darts and spiked balls had gone through. Sasori pulled it back immediately and used it to block Kakashi's attack. Sasori didn't turn to look at Kakashi as he did this, but focused on the girl who was now rushing at him. He opened the puppets mouth and a flurry of needles shot out towards her. However, she was pushed out of dangers way by Chiyo who had seen what he was going to do. They both tumbled to the side. Kakashi leaped back suddenly as holes appeared on the edges of the shell on Sasori's back. The tail was coming out through a hole in the center of the shell. Long steel spikes shot out barely missing Kakashi by centimeters. The right arm which had launched the cylinder was reconstructing itself to form a fore arm and a small crude hand.

Kakashi had been moving at full speed and was stunned at Sasori's reaction speed. He had blocked him and attacked all of them at almost the same time. Kakashi knew now that their opponent was probably on the same level as Itachi and that did not bode well for them. It seemed that Sasori was not going to let up and Kakashi had to think of a way to beat him. He hoped the chidori would be enough. He didn't want to resort to his other jutsu's yet, but only the situation would tell how far they would have to go.

Sakura had realized her mistake almost to late. In her desire to not be useless she almost used her strength to strike at the enemies tail. She remembered the warning Chiyo had given them. "They all more than likely are poisoned." She couldn't let herself feel bad about it right now, she knew she had to rely on all her skills if they were to get through this and one of those skills she possessed now was evasion. She had been prepared to dodge Sasori's attacks when she rushed at him, but realized she wasn't quick enough to change directions when she saw the darts. She was grateful to Chiyo, but she was more determined then ever not to fail. She had to get quicker. She couldn't let any attacks aimed at her land. Chiyo and she quickly got to their feet and looked at the situation.

Sasori was going through a transformation. He knew it would be troublesome to handle all three of them and as much as he wanted to give each of them his full attention, he saw it would be more effective to change tactics. The tail on his back returned inside, disappearing from sight. Then the shell with a face on it with the spikes sprouted six legs and stretched them out, looking like a daddy long legs spider getting off Sasori's back. Once the shell was on the ground Sasori stood up straighter. He pulled off the robe revealing what looked like a normal sleeveless black karate outfit. His arms were not well defined, but were thick. Under the large shell was a much smaller one. Out of which the tail came out of once again. Sasori was not quite upright yet, but there was no mistake with the shell of his back, his style of attack would be greatly different. The tail was coming out longer and was hanging in front of Sasori now. He reached out with his left hand and grasped one of the connecting bars of the tail. He twisted it a certain way and pulled separating it from the rest of the tail. He then attached this to his right hand, the crudely made hand attached itself to the tail and fit in perfectly. The tail contracted and made a large broadsword appearance. He repeated the operation and now had two swords and a tail. The tail was not as long without the the pieces Sasori took off, but that didn't help our heroes because they didn't know how long the tail was in total. The shell wasted no time in rushing towards its target, Kakashi. Sasori meanwhile began heading towards Sakura and Chiyo. The way he walked towards them gave the impression of a scorpion headed towards it's prey.

Kakashi watched as the shell came towards him alert for whatever it was going to do. The shell shot out one of the spikes, immediately the spike was replaced. Kakashi dodged the spike by jumping to the side, another spike shot at him. He began having to run. It took him only moments to see that the biggest weapon of the shell was the spikes. He needed to get close enough to destroy it. He jumped hoping that the spikes couldn't catch him. He was wrong, the spider shell leaned down on it's back legs and angled the edges skyward. Kakashi pulled out a few kunnai's and threw them at the oncoming spikes. The kunnais made contact, but it was only enough to slightly change the spike's trajectory. He needed to land and hope that the shell would run out of spikes soon. As he was running around he ran past a spot where the spikes did not fire at him. He quickly backtracked and found the spot. The shell didn't fire and he looked around to see what might have been the cause. He saw that he was between the shell and Sasori. He didn't have time to be impressed by Sasori's strategy, because the shell stood up vertically and began to spin like a wheel rushing at him at an even faster pace. The spikes were no longer flying at him as the shell seemed to be trying a different tactic. Everywhere Kakashi moved the shell angled itself so the spikes were always aimed at him. As he looked at it moving he began to see its weakness. He need to get it airborne to eliminate its maneuverability. Now that he saw what he could do he had to begin working on his strategy.

Sakura was determined not to loose. She looked toward Chiyo, but she looked to be lost in thought. That was not good, Chiyo snapped out of it, but it was too late to communicate anything to her now. Sasori was getting closer. Chiyo had been amazed at all the modifications that Sasori had done with his puppet. She knew he would modify it, but this had taken her completely by surprise. She snapped out of it quickly as he drew closer. She threw a glance at Sakura, but she was already preparing to face Sasori. Chiyo realized her moment of distraction had cost them an advantage and the thought that they had an advantage because of her knowledge of Sasori's puppet had also vanished.

Sasori lunged at Chiyo with surprising speed. She dodged the first attack successfully and he swung the other sword at her. She flickered out of it's reach. Sasori didn't stop spinning though he now stood facing a charging Sakura. Chiyo was about to lunge at Sasori when out of the corner of her eye she saw the tail also swinging in her direction. She jumped back once again avoiding the tail and saw two cylinder's flying at her. She quickly flickered to the side twice in order to put enough distance between her and his cylinders which exploded and sent darts and spiked balls everywhere. When she turned to look Sasori was already fighting Sakura. Sakura had began charging at him when she had to stop seeing him turn to attack her. She remembered Tsunade's lessons and evaded his attacks. Unlike with Chiyo though Sasori didn't turn his attention away from her. Instead attacking with both swords and tail. Sakura began picking up speed as Sasori kept attacking. Her mind was on trying to move quicker. She kept telling herself, I have to be quicker, I have to evade an attack quickly enough to create an opening. She dodged all Sasori's attacks successfully. Sasori didn't give her the opportunity however as he picked up the speed of his attacks as well. He had hoped to dispose of her quickly so he could concentrate on Chiyo. However the damn brat was proving to be more formidable then he had anticipated. He sensed Chiyo begin to charge towards him and knew he had to take one of them out quickly otherwise he would not be successful. He felt he was so close to killing the brat, but Chiyo was almost on top of him. He swung his sword at Sakura in a horizontal arc spinning his body continously. He missed Chiyo by inches with the swing only cutting her robe. His tail rose in the air and struck the ground in front of Sakura. She jumped back just barely avoiding the attack. The tail struck the sand and buried itself, but quickly began to pull out again. Sakura saw her chance, it wasn't a big window, but she didn't miss it now. She charged all her chakra into her fist and struck at the flat side of the tail. The punch had enough force to break the tail. However she kept pushing down slaming the remainder of the tail that was attached to Sasori to the ground. Sasori had made Chiyo jump back and had released a barrage of poisoned darts from his mouth at her when he felt what Sakura had done. Sasori's eyes widened from within the puppet. He quickly knew he had lost momentum. He quickly detached the tail from his body as he felt her put her foot on it and begin to charge at him running on the tail. He jumped away from her spinning and swinging both of his swords at him. She blocked the first on, but the second one would cut her in half. Suddenly it stopped and Sasori immediately saw the near invincible chakra threads on his sword and knew exactly what Chiyo had done. It was to late however as Sakura's chakra filled punch blindsided him in the midsection of his puppet. The midsection where Sasori was struck dislocated as the rest of the body followed. It seemed as if the body was going to stay intact, but suddenly it tore at the seams and shattered as it traveled to the ground landing on his robes and tumbling a ways. Sakura did not follow the path of the body as she quickly went to Chiyo's aid. She had not avoided the darts in order to maintain contact with Sasori's sword. A sense of joy spread through Sakura as she bent down over Chiyo. She felt more useful than she ever had before she felt a sense of fulfillment. She couldn't bask in it as how she was carefully pulling darts out of Chiyos skin. She looked down at the old shinobi and asked. "Why didn't you let go?" Sakura asked as she tended Chiyo's wounds and took out a vile and injected it into Chiyo quickly. "This should deal with the poison."

Chiyo looked up at Sakura, being tended by somebody from Konoha was never something sh thought would happen. "I just want to stop Sasori. We have to be successful...the kazekage is the most important person in our village. We can't afford to loose him like we have others. There is nobody in our village right now that can step into that position." Chiyo held back a tear, never did she imagine that she would have to fight her grandchild to succeed in the mission. She felt emotional, but reeled in her emotions and spoke to Sakura in her harsh voice again. "Have you forgotten we aren't done here. We've only been able to take out his puppet!"

Kakashi began throwing kunnais at the ground under and near the mask puppet. He waited until the puppet walked into a position over the kunnais and set of the explosive notes off. The force of the explosions made the puppet airborne and vulnerable. He took the opening without hesitation and struck the mask with his chidori. The puppet fell to the ground in pieces. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and headed towards Sakura and Chiyo.

Sakura's eyes widened at that realization. She immediately felt inadequate for having overlooked such vital information. Her head snapped around towards Sasori robes and she saw the robes begin to shift. Kakashi was now standing beside them. "It looks like he's about to get up again. Is there any information you'll give us that will assist us in this fight?" Kakashi asked.

Chiyo was standing up slowly wincing a little at the pain that she thought she would feel, but wasn't there. She was impressed by Sakura's medical skills, but said nothing. Instead she waited to see her grandchild. "Hai, I may. I need to see him first." She didn't have long to wait as a small pale hand reached from under the robe and began to pull it off as he straightened. Beneath the robe stood a young man shaking his head in disbelief. "That body of his is a puppet. It has to be, he hasn't aged since last I saw him. That was many many years ago." Chiyo said. As she stared at his body she made another observation. "The face may be artificial, but underneath that his brain must be real. His chakra is still controlled by his mind and he must have also manipulated his chakra flow. That is his weakness, however he must know that as well and have set up countermeasures to avoid having that exploited." She finished. Kakashi and Sakura had listened to her every word. Sakura made sure to mark it so she would not forget it as did Kakashi.

Sasori looked up at his enemies and spoke. "I underestimated you. I feel like I'm beginning to make the same mistakes as Deidara." A smile formed on his false face as he continued. "I never imagined a shinobi so young would possess such ungodly strength. I had hoped to dispose of you and Chiyo quickly and then handle the white fang's child at my leisure." He now looked serious once again. "I will not underestimate you again. This time I will kill you all." He took out a scroll and unfurled it while performing seals in quick succession.

Chiyo recognized what he was doing and knew she would have to break her promise not to use the same technique as his. One she had created and forbade herself from using. "Kakashi, Sakura. I will handle what he is about to throw at us." She said as she took out a scroll. "Hopefully you two will be able to get to him." She said as she began forming her seals as well.

"I see you recognize your own technique, Oba-chan." Sasori said as there was a huge explosion of smoke and from the smoke appeared and army of puppets They were all wearing black fur coats and came in varying designs and sizes. Numbering at least fifty. Chiyo's eyes widened when she saw the number of puppets he had summoned, but she was not about to back down from this challenge after all they had gone to get here. She knew that her battle experience still overshadowed his and she would count on that to give her the edge. She also hoped that he wouldn't be able to control so many puppets as well. She finished her seals and there was an explosion of smoke behind her as well. As the smoke cleared there were walked out of the smoke roughly thirty puppets also of different designs and sizes. The biggest difference was the puppets outfits. Chiyo's puppets wore light brown robes of simple material. Which contrasted greatly to Sasori's puppets. Kakashi and Sakura saw this would be easier to navigate the impending war zone. They were amazed by the power being displayed by both shinobis.

The battle began fast and furious with the puppets charging each other. The puppeteers finding areas where they could survey the battle safely as they controlled the battling puppets. The puppets were almost evenly matched in battles each striking with speed and power Chiyo's had an edge in skill though. Sasori saw this and began to strategize he needed to account for the two Konoha ninjas as well and even though he knew he would beat Chiyo the two ninjas from Konoha were unknown variables. He sent puppets after them as well to slow them down as they tried to make they're way through the battle field. He was buying himself time to think.

Kakashi and Sakura had seen Sasori's location at the beginning of the battle and marked it well in their minds. They slowly worked their way towards him fighting off puppets which were stronger opponents then they had thought they would be. They were backed up by Chiyo's puppets so it was not too lopsided for them. They struggled to maintain Sasori in their field of vision, however he didn't look like he had the intentions of moving so they kept pushing forward. The battlefield was beginning to be littered by puppet parts and Sakura and Kakashi had to maneuver around these new obstacles as well. At one point Sakura let out a small squeak of surprise as a puppets hand grabbed her ankle. The shock passed quickly as she disposed of the severed limb. They were now running through the area and finally made their way to get behind Sasori. Once they were set up Kakashi struck Sasori with his chidori. The puppet fell to pieces to the ground. Sakura quickly came forward and inspected the fallen puppet. She quickly turned to Kakashi, "This isn't him." She had barely touched him when she said this. Kakashi looked at her waiting for an explanation. One that when said was so obvious it made Kakashi feel foolish. "The puppets haven't stopped fighting. If this were him there would have been at least a break in the fighting while he adjusted." Sakura said.

Kakashi saw the point in this and quickly saw the deception. They had been separated from Chiyo. "We have to get back to Chiyo as quickly as possible!" Kakashi yelled breaking into a full run. With the lower number of puppets still fighting they made their way back extremely quicker. On the way Kakashi lowered his mask to reveal his sharingan eye.

Chiyo was focusing on the battle in front of her. Helping Sakura and Kakashi get to Sasori and maintaining the battle with Sasori's puppets. It was no surprise that she didn't notice the figure behind her that snuck right up behind her back and whispered in her ear. "Hello again, grandmother. This is good-bye as well. Chiyo's eyes widened in shock and in pain as a sword pierced her back. It cut and pierced through the spinal discs and pushed through her stomach. Blood began to flow from her mouth. Anger and frustration rose in her.

She tried to turn her head and asked. "W-why has it come to this?"

Sasori replied quickly. "I thought that was obvious, after all it was you who taught me. A shinobi can't show weakness or emotion. A true shinobi always fulfills their mission, I made the decision to become the strongest shinobi. Like you said, get there by any means necessary." Sasori leaned in close to Chiyo's ear and asked a question. "Are you proud of me now, oba-chan?"

He looked up too see her comrades approaching and pushed Chiyo off the swords blade. She crumpled to the ground. He flicked his wrist and knocked the blood off the sword. His expressionless face was set as he looked at the enemy. Taking a deep breath he acted.

Sakura was running at full speed her adrenaline fully pumping. She saw him push Chiyo of the blade and flick the blood off casually and her anger rose. She sped up to get there, but was shocked by Sasori's speed. She did not see him move, but he suddenly appeared right in front of her with the sword raised and coming down quickly. The adrenaline did not let her think and she went on reflexes, which may have saved her life as she shifted to the side and raised her hand with a kunnai in it. It met the blade, but did not stop it. Instead the blade pushed the kunnai down against her skin with enough force to make the kunnai pierce her skin and make her start bleeding. She had no time to evade Sasori as he shifted his feet and weight and with the hand holding his sword thrust his fist at her to deliver a blow that sent her sprawling back a few feet. His puppets wasted no time in beginning to converge on her before she could get up. She saw her situation and let out a yell of frustration. "DAMMIT!"

Sasori quickly spun to face the child of his parent's killers, but was confronted by something he did not expect. There headed towards him was a sharingan eye. He was able to begin the trap before he fell prey to Kakashi's eyes. There was an explosion in his mind. Sasori had been hit by Itachi's mangyuku sharingan before and instantly knew this was different. He didn't know if it was better or worse though. The reality in front of him was warped and all his senses were thrown into chaos. There was none of Itachi's psychological innuendo. This sharingan was more precise and to the point debilitating his mind and ability to fight back. There was no suspense there was only confusion, pain and anguish. However he cut of the chakra flow to his mind just as he was hit by Kakashi's sharingan and hoped it was fast enough to avoid contact with this new foe.

Kakashi hit Sasori with his mangyuku sharingan and pulled out his kunnai closing in for the kill. He was about to stab Sasori through his eyes and pierce his brain when suddenly the chest cavity opened up and a spear shot out of it. Hitting Kakashi with great force and sending him flying back as it pierced the right of his chest and flew out his back. Kakashi let out a yell of pain. Sasori quickly regained his senses after that and picked up the sword that had fallen out of his hands. He walked over to where Kakashi was, shaking his head. "I never would have expected another sharingan user. Even using a technique I've only finished developing and am still testing, I was still taken by your surprises. I see you didn't take after your father's foolishness though. He killed my parents and forfeited his mission in order to save a friend... I am glad that you at least see the importance of completing a mission. I will admit you were a worthy opponent." Sasori raised his sword and placed on his shoulder casually and kept speaking. "You know your father was my motivation for becoming stronger, I wanted to kill him to avenge my parents. Unfortunately after he failed in his mission out here he decided to take his own life. You have no idea how angry I was when I discovered that. I never intended to come after you, but now that the opportunity has brought you to me... I will gladly take your pathetic life." Kakashi, was in utter anguish at this point this was not how he wanted to die not with this information laid out like that. His father...Kakashi refused to believe what Sasori had said and sadly there would be no time later to process this information. Kakashi closed his eyes to wait for the final blow. Sasori then began lifting the sword up in order to take Kakashi's life when a something crashed into Sasori and sent him flying the sword dropping harmlessly to the ground. Kakashi weakly followed this when he heard the noiseand saw that it had been Sakura that had punched Sasori. Sakura gave Sasori no time to recover. He had forgotten about her when he had been attacked by Kakashi and she wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away. She was on top of his body pinning his arms to the ground and jamming her hand under his chin to keep him from opening his mouth and releasing darts. In this position she cocked her arm back to deliver the final blow. Sasori saw that he had lost he looked into Sakuras emotional face and his final thought were, 'How careless of me to be beaten by such weak shinobi. They can't even hide their emotions.' Sakura's fist came crashing down with and incredible force crushing crushing Sasori's head and breaking it into tiny splinters. Sakura pulled back her fist and saw gooey grey matter on it. She began throwing up immediately, realizing all that had happened.

**AURTHORS NOTES;** Unlike the cannon story, I didn't think it made sense having the same basis for the chakra system in Sasori after he manipulated his own body so much. Also I changed the locations because I think it is the mind which controls the chakra, hence strategies and so forth, though I like the romanticism of the heart controling his actions, I changed it so it would be more fitting and realistic. Please don't hate. I didn't include the Sandaime because I felt it would be biting of the cannon to hard and I wanted to do some things differently, I didn't change the past. So, yes Sasori did kill him, but no I didn't want to use him, because I wouldn't have been able to fit it all in the same chapter. Sorry if you think I'm lazy. Let's see I feel like I forgot something, but I'm sure someone will point it out to me. Oh one more thing, next chapter will be much like this one with all the focus now being on Naruto and their rescue mission, and don't worry I haven't forgotten team 8 I'll dedicate the chapter after next solely to them.

**PREVIEW**

Deal with the devil...explosive surprises.

**RSO'S**

danny- Thanks for not judging me, I think. Yup three against one. Ummm...kind of both. Oh, sorry, I'll put them in soon though. She'll get plenty of story time. That's good, I'm not trying to preach, but drinking can be very bad when you do it excessively. thanx for reviewing.

dragonman180- Thanx, damn I hope I didn't disappoint.

causeiambetta- Thank you.

wherethereiswillthereisaweapon- Next chapter, right. Because the next story is way not even in my mind right now. Boy, talk about pressure.

Bailin- Nice catch, I must have not paid attention when I used spell check.

acrazygirlofmanyname- thanx

flame- thanx

zzzzzz-thanx


	32. Chapter 32

Ok, here is the latest Ch. I know I said I would try to cram the whole battle into one chapter, but after I got to the sixth page I realized, there ain't no way in konohell I can fit all that in. So I'm going to split it in two, maybe give myself time to close out this part of the story and move on. Man I never really expected it to be so long. I guess I forgot to take into account how long it would take to set up the actual confrontations. (gets down on knees and claps hands together) Please don't hate me...I'm doing my best. (thinks about that) trying my hardest. (did that sound better)

I don't own Naruto in any way, shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**DEAL WITH THE DEMON**

Once Naruto finished explaining the situation to Neji and Lee he punched his fist into his open hand and said. "So now we gotta go help out Kakashi and the others and go get Gaara back." Naruto said. He was starting to move forward expecting them to follow when a hand gripped his shoulders. It was Neji.

Neji had his byakugaan turned on and was looking ahead. He could see that Kakashi and the others were engaged in battle with Sasori. "Wait Naruto. You said Gaara was taken by a shinobi on a giant bird. Kakashi and the others aren't fighting him." Naruto looked at Neji not following where he was going with this.

"Wait, are you saying we shouldn't help Kakashi out. What kind of a team mate are you! We gotta help them out and get Gaara back!" Naruto said. He couldn't believe Neji didn't agree with them.

Neji shook his head. "Whoever is fighting Kakashi and the others is buying Gaara's kidnapper time. So if we went to help Kakashi we would be letting him get away faster." Neji realized something else as well. "We should travel around their battle to save time. Let's go...I can explain it on the way." Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He was about to punch Neji's arrogant expression of his face when Lee spoke up. "Neji's right, we aren't strategist, you and I." He said speaking to Naruto. "We should have faith in Neji's plan. He knows our objective and why he plans what he plans. Our mission is to assist you, so that makes your mission our mission as well. I understand how hard it is to leave your team mates behind, but you have to have faith that they can handle it. That is also what being a team mate is about. Faith in each other... right?" Rock Lee said. Thinking of how he just had to leave Gai and the others behind and knowing they made the right choice. Naruto saw the wisdom in this and nodded. "We're your team right now, have some faith in us, we won't fail you." Lee said. He struck the good guy pose and then began to follow Neji who was already running. "C'mon, Naruto let's go we got a mission to complete." All Naruto's reservations melted away, Lee was right. Naruto was glad he had someone like Lee on his team and he began to follow as well catching up to Neji quickly so he could hear the plan.

"So what's the plan Neji!" Naruto asked as he caught up to him.

Neji looked at Naruto and was glad he was willing to listen. He made an observation 'I see you've matured Naruto.' He then proceeded to tell him the plan. "I saw the bird you were talking about hovering behind the battle more than likely observing. It looks like a she, even so she has a good vantage point too see us from a distance so she will likely fly away as soon as we get within striking range. Once she sees us speed is of the essence." Neji said.

Naruto was shaking his head at all the right times and then he asked a crucial question. "Okay, so what does that mean?" Neji's upper face turned blue. He made another observation 'you're still an idiot, Naruto.'

"We'll run at normal speed until she sees us and begins to turn and fly away. Then we will boost to our full speed. Running at normal speed will let us get closer." Neji put up his hand to stop Naruto from asking another stupid question. Neji saw the question written all over Naruto's face "It just will. Now, do you have your communicator on you?" Neji asked.

Naruto nodded his head. "Hai, I got it right here." He began digging into his pockets until he found it and pulled it out. Neji's face was once again blue. 'how do you survive, baka. It goes on your ear not in your pocket.' He held out his hand so Naruto could give it to him. He shook his head in disbelief as he took it.

"Ok, I'm going to adjust it so that we can communicate. Just put it in your ear and once we begin the chase we will be able to strategize and have an advantage." Neji finished adjusting the communication device and handed it back to Naruto who promptly put it in his ear. He was surprised by the clarity of Neji's voice now speaking to him. "How does that sound." Naruto looked at him and gave him a thumbs up. "Good, there is a limit to how far this transmits depending on the terrain, if we loose contact then just slow down or move back to the spot where you lost contact. If you have to re-establish it." Neji saw Naruto suddenly stop and stopped himself. "Why are you stopping." Rock Lee had now joined them to see what was going on, he had been listening to their conversation on his own communications device. He now raised a questioning eyebrow wondering what Naruto was up to.

Naruto was beginning to take of his jacket. He looked at Neji and said. "You said once we got close to her we would have to run at full speed, well I have to take off my weights in order to do that." Rock Lee didn't know Naruto wore weights and was eager to see how he wore them. Neji conceded and waited for him to take off his jacket and take off the weights. However his eyes widened a little bit as he saw the necklace that hung from Naruto's neck under the jacket. He recognized that as one of his clans crafts. He had an idea where it might have come from, but didn't want to waste time asking right now.

Rock Lee also began to roll down his leg warmers in order to take off the weights he wore. He saw that Naruto's were smaller than his and that he wore them right above his elbows. When that was done Lee handed his weights to Neji who performed a jutsu and the weights disappeared. Naruto also handed Neji his weights a little cautiously. "Don't worry Naruto once we're finished I'll summon them back. Are you two ready now?" Neji asked.

Naruto and Rock Lee both nodded at the same time and loudly said. "Hai!"

Neji didn't wait, instead he took off running towards their target. Naruto and Lee caught up with him quickly. Neji had been thinking about the situation and still hadn't come up with a plan, he didn't know how high the enemy could fly and if Naruto and Lee would be able to reach her. He hoped they could come up with something soon. "This is the formation we'll follow, once we begin the chase I'll be behind you two scouting out the area for traps and letting you guys know what is coming up ahead. One of you two will have to remain on the ground in order to catch Gaara if he falls. I'll leave who does what up to you two. Whoever is not on the ground will have to find some way to engage the enemy. If this plan fails we'll come up with something afterwards. Got it?" Both of them nodded their heads. He hoped they were being honest. By this time they had covered a considerable amount of ground and were nearing Deidara's position.

Deidara had been hovering behind the battle being visible on purpose. The plan had been to isolate the jinchurikki and try to capture him or at least gage his skills. She saw them coming towards her however and saw the jinchurikki was not alone. She watched the battle some more as they neared, she was always impressed by Sasori's toys. She waited until they had come closer to her before turning her attention away from Sasori's fight. "It's time to do my part. Hmmm, this should be fun." she said as she finally started to turn her bird around and began the chase. She pulled out clay from the bird as she went making spears and setting them down on the bird for future use.

Neji saw her spot them and begin to turn away. "On my signal we go full speed and try to overtake her." He said. There was no response, but he knew Naruto and Lee were ready.

A little ways ahead of Neji, Lee and Naruto were already arguing. "Let me handle this Lee. I can use chakra and have a better chance. You will be at a disadvantage up in the air without the ability to use ninjutsus." Naruto argued.

Lee saw that Naruto was right, but he didn't just want to give up like that. "We'll decide this in a fair competition." Naruto looked at Lee utterly confused now. Lee made a fist and said. "Rock, paper, scissor."

Naruto being super competitive couldn't resist the challenge. "Oh, you're going down Lee!" Naruto won, he had picked rock. He pumped his fist and exclaimed. "Yeah, that's how it's done." Lee hung his head momentarily and then picked up his pace once again.

Behind them Neji was blue in the face. 'Bakas, focus on the mission.' He looked up to see something falling to the ground. It looked like a spear. A few steps further he recognized it as the same type of spear that Naruto and the others encountered. He quickly relayed this information to Naruto and Lee as other spears began to fall to the ground. "There is a spear ahead of you to the left. Be careful, it's more than likely going to go off when you run by it." Naruto and Lee shifted a little bit to the right. Suddenly there was an explosion, they did not stop as the birds broke off the spear and began to give chase. Neji saw there was no point in holding those two back anymore. "GO! Full speed, get Gaara back!" Neji was following them and would have to handle these exploding birds himself. He wouldn't be able to assist them well in this condition, he hoped they fared well on their own.

There was a huge cloud of sand kicked up as Naruto and Lee took off. Their speed was unbelievable. Naruto began unleashing the kyubi's chakra. First it surrounded him and then he began to release one tail. His fangs grew longer and the whisker marks became more pronounced, his nails grew longer and harder, becoming claws. He then released the second tail. With this his ears became longer, taking the shape of fox ears. His fingers elongated a little bit as well. His adrenaline was pumping as he began releasing the third tail. Lee had been watching this transformation and was almost speechless. He barely whispered. "W-what's happening to you, Naruto?" Naruto however heard this comment with his more acute sense of hearing.

He turned to Lee and grinned baring his fangs in an evil looking grin. "I'm getting ready to fight." Naruto was confident in handling the third tail, he was even confident in handling a fourth tail, but not confident enough to do so in this situation. The third tail was now out and another change had come over Naruto. His feet had elongated, he was now running on his toes and leaning forward. He gained some speed and was running with a lot of power in each step. He was no longer kicking up dirt as with each stride his toes dug into the sand and pushed off with incredible force leaving a hole which was immediately filled by sand. Naruto crouched suddenly and jumped straight up. Rock Lee did not stop running focusing on his task, but he did look up as he saw Naruto disappear in the sky. He was impressed by Naruto's newfound power.

Deidara was scanning the landscape to find her quarries. She saw one was staying behind to deal with the traps she had set while the other two went ahead. Before her eyes found Lee and Naruto who were now nearly underneath her, she sensed an explosion of power she immediately looked down and saw Naruto shooting up directly at her like a bullet. She instantly commanded her bird to move out of the way and reached for a few spears. She barely avoided getting hit as Naruto shot past her. She looked up to see him looking down. She flew away putting some distance between them and launched five spears at the Jinchurikki.

Naruto knew taking this person would be a piece of cake. He had to restrain himself from using all the kyubii's power, because he didn't want to loose control. He saw the spears launch and was about to take them out with the fox's chakra when all of a sudden the chakra stopped flowing. Naruto's eyes widened, he had not expected this. He was about to die, once again he was careless and now was going to pay the ultimate price. He closed his eyes.

When he opened them he was once again in front of the Kyubii's cage. A cold gust of wind greeted him. It stank, Naruto assumed it was the Kyubi's breath, of death. A low booming voice spoke. **"Hello, brat." **Suddenly from behind the bars appeared the Kyubi's evil face smiling. The Kyubi had waited for an opportunity like this to present itself. He had long sought a way to escape this seal, but it was only the host, in this case Naruto that could do anything about it. In this situation he now finally had a bargaining advantage. He would get something from the boy today.

Naruto was not in the mood to deal with this right now. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING. IF YOU DON'T LET ME OUT OF HERE AND LEND ME YOUR CHAKRA WE'LL DIE YOU STUPID FOX!" Naruto yelled. His yelling was almost instantly cut off by the demon fox's evil booming laughter.

Wind blew out of the cage in gusts as the fox laughed. He stopped rather quickly though and fixed his intense gaze on Naruto. **"Wrong boy. I am immortal or as close to it as can get, you will be the only one who will die." **Naruto looked at the fox like he was crazy.

Naruto really didn't want to deal with this now. "I thought we had a deal! Aren't you going to back up your word! If you are what you claim you are then why have you allowed me to use your chakra for so long!" Naruto clenched his fist looking at the fox with intense determination.

The fox did not want to waste much time either. **"Hmmmm.", **but the brat was obviously thick not asking the right questions. **"I never made a deal with you. I lent you my powers because you were brave enough to come to me and ask for them. Unlike humans my word never breaks. The question you should be asking is why you are here. You want me to back my word, you want us to have a deal? Then what are the terms?" **The fox asked.

Naruto ground his teeth, this guy is insane he thought. "Why the hell would I make a deal with you, you damn fox!" Naruto asked. He had not expected this and didn't know what the fox would want.

The fox's eyes narrowed. **"Because without my help right now, you will die." **The fox said, barely hiding his contempt for the boy's stupidity. He calmed down a little bit. Either way I will get something Kyubi thought.

Naruto wasn't about to be manipulated. "BULLSHIT! If that were true than I would already be dead!" Naruto tried to reason.

This pissed off the demon fox and his voice thundered. **"YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME BRAT! Turn around and see with your own eyes!" **A huge clawed finger went trhough the bars pointing behind Naruto. Naruto turned around and looked. The scene behind him was not what he had expected instead of corridors like last time he was at the doorway which had once been blocked off to him. Through the large windows he saw five spears ever so slowly coming towards him. The Kyubi's voice was once again calm and poised as he spoke once again. **"Time works differently here, the second you leave here you will die. Use your eyes and look at those spears." **Kyubi said.

Naruto had no idea what the fox was talking about. "What the hell are you tal-" he stopped abruptly as there was a tremor in the room. He sensed the demon fox's chakra and looked back out of the window. The scene was still the same but what Naruto saw was different. He saw the spears almost as transparent, within them he saw knots lining up and down the front two spears, within those knots was compressed chakra. Naruto knew by looking at this that that was what caused the explosions and by the amount of compressed chakra he knew the fox was right. No human could survive the force of the incoming explosion. "Why now, what the hell do you want from me!" Naruto yelled at the fox.

Finally the fox thought he asked a good question. **"I want to make a deal and I want to see if you are willing to make a deal." **The fox said. He saw the cluelessness on Naruto's face. **"I will save your life right now, in order to do so you must allow me one minute of freedom. After that you won't be able to access my chakra, AT ALL. I will give you three days, after that time we'll make a deal. You can think of your conditions during that time. In return for saving your life right now you must give me your word that you'll make a deal with me in three days time. You have thirty seconds to decide... or die." **The fox's hand reached out and gripped the bar on which the seal was on. With a great effort the fox began pulling the bar down through the ground until the seal was at Naruto's eye level. **"All you have to do is touch that seal if you agree." **The fox said, knowing he wouldn't have long to wait one way or another.

Naruto didn't feel he had much of a choice, but he didn't know if the fox was being completely truthful. "What happens after that minute and why should I trust you, you damn fox!" Naruto asked.

Naruto looked at the demons eyes and detected no hint of deception as the fox uttered the next few words. **"I will return here, the seal won't let me break the terms of the deal, even if I wanted to. Aside from that, I will not break my word because...that too, is my way of the ninja." **

Neji had been trying to catch up to his comrades, but was still dealing with the birds. He quickly finished the last ones off and looked forward. He saw Lee on the ground also tangling with the birds. Then he looked up to see Naruto in the sky, Nejis eyes widened Naruto was still as a statue as five spears headed towards him. Neji was about to yell as he realized someone he admired was about to die when suddenly there was a deafening thump. Like a heartbeat, from Naruto there came a silent shockwave of power. Neji stopped running and stood still watching what was unfolding before his eyes.

Deidara felt the thump as well, she also felt the immense shockwave of power go right through her. For the first time in her life she looked up at her target and felt a twinge of fear. She had felt uncertainty many times before, but this time it was different. It felt like an immense power that wanted to swallow her and destroy her. As she looked at Naruto there was an explosion of chakra, at first looking like a fireball, but suddenly taking form. It was a fox, the chakra exploded and for the first time since Naruto was born the nine tails breathed in fresh air. Tried to at least he was not able to take solid form, he realized this and flickered back about a hundred meters from the oncoming spears. His giant chakra body once again disappeared and concentrated around Naruto, but this time all four tails had been released. The Kyubi/Naruto lifted his hand with eye blinding speed and in it was what looked like a rasengan only this one was red. The fox left it in the air where he had been and flickered away once again. The spears were flying past the rasengan when the demon fox closed his open hand into a fist and the red ball of chakra immediately disappeared, the spears were suddenly drawn to where the ball had been and they imploded disappearing from sight. The fox was already cursing the seal. He still could not access his full power he could only release the power that the boys body could handle. That would be enough for him however, because unlike Naruto, Kyubi knew exactly how to use his powers and was not about to let this opportunity to exercise slip away. He focused his eyes on the flying bird which was once again flying away and grinned.

**PREVIEW**

Will the fox keep it's word? Or will he destroy Naruto?

**RSO'S**

causeiambetta- yeah, reading your review makes me feel good. hearing somebody digs my work is just so refreshing. Yup, Sakura and the others are being put through their paces. I hope you enjoy the latest development.

dragonman180- lol, man I don't know how I would handle having brains on my fists, poor Sakura. Now it's time to get Gaara back, oh deidara has some surprises left. Muahhahahaha, now you have to read the next chapter. I know the curiosity's gonna get the better of you.

warprince2000- done.

jeefus- Yeah, I'm pretty sure she'll be able to cope with it later, but c'mon their was brains on her fists. Like dragonman said, eww. J/K It wasn't but since you put it like that I guess that saved me the trouble of having to think of a title name. Gyahh! I forgot to describe Naruto with the four tails transformation. Damn gotta remember to do that next chapter. He was using three tails easily so who knows how he will deal with more tails only time will tell. If he survives that is. Sorry, couldn't help myself. Thanx, I don't know, but I'm always nervous when I put out a new chapter, because I feel like I should go back and tweak it and then I have to stop myself or I would never get anything done. lol. I'm glad you enjoyed it, hopefully you'll read this one just as quickly.

acrazygirlofmanynames- hope you enjoyed it now that its here.

akirastridder- thanx for reviewing, hope you like the story so far if you make it this far.

danny- OMG! no review, damn I feel like something's missing, well, I'm putting your name here in your memory. Hopefully you'll start reviewing again soon. Hope everythings alright on your end.


	33. Chapter 33

I know I should have finished the fight in this chapter, but I saw a review that said something about cliffhanger so I decided to give everyone a good one. Hope everyone enjoys it. (evil laugh) Muahahahahahahahaha. Don't forget to review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**EXPLOSIVE SURPRISE**

Sakura finished throwing up the lunch she never ate and wiped her mouth clean. She lifted her head and surveyed the landscape around her through blurry vision. She quickly snapped out of it and jumped to her feet as a thought jumped into her mind. 'What if this was another puppet, I would have been wide open'. She looked around quickly in a fighting stance ready do defend herself. She knew it was maybe a foolish thought, but one that she could not get out of her head so easily. She fought her paranoia down and calmed herself. She had to check on the others and make sure they were okay. Her worries completely changed as she saw Kakashi. She forgot about being attacked and ran to his side. "Kakashi. Thank the gods you're conscious." she said as she saw he was weakly trying to prop himself up.

Kakashi looked at his former pupil, relief that they had won washed over him. "You did very well Sakura." He said.

Sakura raised her hand in a silencing motion as she crouched to inspect his condition. "You shouldn't talk Kakashi-san. You need to conserve your strength while I look at you." Sakura still felt inadequate and her mind wanted to obsess over her failings, but she pushed those thoughts away. She had to focus on getting through this, their mission still wasn't finished. She looked at the spear going through Kakashi and noted that it had missed the vital organs, he would be fine. He had lost a larg amount of blood however and the poison was already coursing through his blood. She took out a kunnai and began cutting the rope that was in Kakashi's chest. She was having a tough time, but she wasn't about to give up. "Demo, sensei I should have evaded him and been better prepared." she said. With a lot of effort she was finally able to cut the rope. She sat Kakashi up and pulled the rope out from behind. Kakashi winced in pain as the rope grated through his body on the way out. She quickly set to closing the wound and heal him.

After a while she finished with him. She had mended the skin with a thin membrane so that it could provide quicker rebuilding and wrapped him up with bandages, she then gave him the antidote and healed his interior organs as well as she could. Once that was all done she breathed a sigh of relief, he would need a crutch to walk, but other than that he should heal fairly quickly. She told him to rest and regain his strength because after the mission was complete they would have to trek back to the village. She was about to get up and look for Chiyo when Kakashi grabbed her ankle, she looked down in curiosity. Kakashi spoke "Don't fret about the details Sakura, if you had dodged it you may not have been able to capitalize on the opportunity. You have to deal with the hand life gives you, you did well Sakura. Don't be down on yourself." Kakashi released her ankle and closed his eyes so he could rest. He didn't see the tears in Sakura's eyes.

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Lee couldn't believe what he was seeing. That Naruto in the sky was not the Naruto he had come to know. Even though his appearance had changed it was more than just that. Not only were there streaks of red hair on Naruto's head the chakra around him was burning so brightly it made Naruto look dark skinned. There was something about that chakra surrounded Naruto that was totally off. He didn't know what to do when suddenly Neji's voice spoke through his communicator. "Lee keep an eye out on Naruto this is our mission if Naruto is out of control then we have to use the seals the Hokage gave us." Lee didn't understand what Neji was saying Naruto was out of control, but from his perspective he was totally in command.

He mentioned this to Neji. "He looks in control Neji. What do you want me to do?"

Neji sometimes couldn't believe how thick Lee was. "If he gets out of control. IF Lee, don't attack him if what you say is true. Just keep the seals handy." Neji said. He was making much faster progress now that all the birds had left him alone. He knew she called them away for some reason. He had to hurry up.

Naruto was now falling down to the ground with the smile still on his face. He saw another large clay bird flying at him at tremendous speed and his grin widened. His tails grew in size and spread out like a fan. As he kept falling he began to flip. He was now headed down to the ground head first with his back to the oncoming bird. He scanned the horizon with his keen eyes and picked up Neji running at incredible speeds. He looked to see the reason and spotted a flock of small clay birds heading his way. Nice plan he thought. Whoever was fighting him had a limited attack variety, but they compensated for it with their strategies. His tails shot out to a huge size and he put his hands above his head. Once he felt the bird was close enough his tails clamped down like venus flytraps and widened to envelop the bird. Incredibly he did not miss the bird was swallowed whole. The next second his chakra arms hit the ground immediately after that his arms also hit the ground. He brought his legs and body around and was in a crouching position his tails still forming a circle containing the large clay bird. Lee had now come and was standing next to him. Naruto's voice yelled in his mind. "What the hell are you doing! You're letting them get away!" Lee came into Naruto's field of vision and Naruto yelled again before the fox could answer. "Don't let him get hurt!"

The fox did not like getting bossed around and his first urge was to destroy Lee, but he restrained that urge. He realized if he hurt the brats friend he would negatively affect his chances of getting a good deal out of the boy. His eyes narrowed in on Lee. He answered Naruto's questions in his mind. **"The thick eye-browed baka won't be hurt. Don't worry boy, I know what I'm doing."** Lee was about to ask a few questions of his own when he felt the pressure on his chest, he hadn't noticed that the chakra could act on it's own and now it made contact with him and began exerting force.

Lee was able to notice all these details because of his superb senses, but it was too late to do anything about the force which now pushed him. "N-nani!" He was suddenly flying backwards at an incredible speed. He could not stop himself because his feet wouldn't touch the ground and he knew now something was wrong. Naruto would never do something like that to a friend and the eyes that had looked at Lee were not Naruto's familiar blue eyes. Lee decided he needed to help Naruto and as soon as he hit the ground he would get to it.

Naruto's yells once again erupted in Naruto's mind. "What the hell was that! You said Lee wouldn't be hurt!" He was almost immediately drowned out by the fox's angry retort.

"**Are you really that stupid brat. Didn't you see the bird I'm holding. If the boy were anywhere closer then the distance I sent him flying he would be killed by the blast." **The fox didn't waste anymore time he knew the other smaller birds would be there in seconds. He released the bird behind him and simultaneously ran the recovering bird throufh with one of his tails and with his chakra legs pushed off the ground. When the bird began exploding the fox was already speeding away at speeds Naruto thought inhuman. Naruto wasn't aware of it, but they had broken the sound barrier and were causing a sonic boom as they escaped the explosion. The birds explosion kept growing a conflagration of flames spreading out as it launched sand into the air developing like a nuclear weapons explosion. The fox was kicking up waves of sand in his wake and his grin had become a full fledge smile. Naruto's fangs were bared and there was a gleam in those red eyes as the fox was once again on the hunt.

Deidara was flying away at a distance contemplating the repercussions of her actions. Aketsuki had worked so hard to get to where they were and she just went a wasted the main target. She was cursing herself for acting so rashly. She had never felt the way that demonic chakra had made her feel. Insignificant. She couldn't bare that feeling, she heard the explosion and began to think of how Sasori would react. He would know immediately what she had done. Would he tell the other members? Of course he would she thought, he had no real loyalty to her and she had just done something that was worthy of loosing her life for. She looked back to see the small mushroom cloud in the distance. Damn she thought to herself, maybe if I hadn't used so much Chakra the jinchurikki would have just been knocked out. As she was looking, the cloud beginning to break up something caught her eyes closer and moving much closer at a great speed. From the distance she was at she could only see the cloud of sand being kicked up, but she knew almost immediately what was causing it. She did not panick this time, but in her heart she knew she was no longer the hunter, she realized this was about to become a battle for survival. She formed her seals and began preparing for the Jinchurikki.

Neji had stopped running a good distance before the blast. He saw the bird coming at Naruto and the strange chakra surrounding him. For some reason he felt compelled to backtrack, instead he began running to the side. He saw the initial explosion and began running faster wishing he had Lee's speed. He felt he was already a good distance away from the explosion, but didn't stop running because he didn't want to risk being wrong. The explosions force did get to him lifting him up into the air in a cloud of sand and sending him sprawling, but at least he was able to avoid the actual explosion. He immediately yelled into his communicator. "LEE! ANSWER ME!" worried about his team mate Neji would not forgive Naruto if Lee were dead.

Lee had hit the ground just as the explosion began. Even though he had promised to go back seeing this explosion made him pause and the realization dawned on him that Naruto had saved his life. He was confused to say the least, but even though Naruto appeared and acted differently Lee had a hard time deciphering if he had lost control. Lee stood there and watched while the explosion grew, he was worried about his friend and knew not what to do yet. As he stood there a voice suddenly yelled directly into his ear making Lee forget all his thoughts and jump about ten feet into the air. "Nani, Neji. Don't yell so loudly, you don't have to act as if I forgot my communicator you know." He said as he rubbed his ear and the side of his head. "That really hurt my ear you know." He heard a loud sigh of relief on his communicator. Funny he thought what was Neji so worried about. "So what should we do now?" Lee asked.

Naruto/ Kyubi saw their target and leaped up into the air. This time they were much higher then when Naruto last jumped. He was high above their quarry. Their target was moving closer to the ground, but the fox had no intention of letting it escape. His tails shot out growing at an amazing speed and headed directly towards the flying bird. He saw her put up some sort of protection, but it would be useless. Suddenly just before contact Naruto's voice rang in his head. "DON'T DESTROY IT GAARA IS IN THE HEAD!" The Kyubi was able to alter the course a few inches before contact. The tails barely missed the bird as they continued on their maddening way finally striking the ground. It penetrated the hard surface and stayed there. It was no longer sand, but looked like hard clay. Naruto was still high in the air held there by his tails. The kyubi let out a deafening roar of frustration the gust of winds released from Naruto's lips were not human and the wind was strong enough to make Deidara's bird struggle with flight. She looked at her surroundings and saw the tails had encased her. She could try flying between them, but knew the Bicchuu had powers she didn't know about and would strike her down with them if she wasn't aware. The Kyubi's frustration was rising, he wanted to simply unleash his power and destroy something, mainly Naruto at the moment for bossing him around. Thoughts were always colliding in the Kyubi's mind and right now the wisdom of dealing with the boy and the frustration of what he was putting up with was tearing him apart. All these thoughts ran through his mind in less then a second as he re-focused on the target. So the boy was in the birds head Kyubi thought. So be it he would handle this. He threw his hands out and his chakra hands extended past his physical reach. They grew to great proportion and closed around the bird his claws cutting the head of the bird cleanly off. The Kyubi's eyes widened as he saw the girl finishing her seals and from his peripheral vision saw what she had accomplished. He took a moment to admire her skill. Not many shinobi's could muster what she had just accomplished. The ground over which they were was made up of clay like substance she had been able to manipulate it and now a plethora of spikes was flying towards him. He closed his hands completely around the bird as the spikes flew past Deidara and became explosively charged. Kyubi's tail grew as he pushed off further and went higher into the air being followed by the volley of spikes. Naruto stood quietly watching the events unfold. He questioned how far he had come seeing these two fighters engaged in battle, and wondered if he could hold a candle to either of them. He did not think he would have survived the first explosion much less what was happening now and seeing the Kyubi using the same amount of power as him with such efficiency Naruto began to feel dwarfed. As the battle raged on an idea began to formulate in Naruto's head or not so much an idea as what it was he would ask in his dealings with the demon fox. The fox suddenly changed directions and began plummeting towards the ground at a steep angle. Naruto had no idea what the fox was planning, but he was running out of time. The Kyubi had successfully gotten all the spikes to be above him. The spikes were not able to keep up with the demon fox's speed so now they were high above them and the fox had let his arms stretch out as he escaped the spikes so the bird was now also high above him. The fox unclasped his hands from around the bird, but there was no longer a bird there instead there was that red sphere that Naruto had seen before. It's effect this time was different though, instead of disappearing it exploded to enormous proportions with energy flying all over the place it consumed all of the spikes. Naruto thought it would keep growing until it burned him as well, but the fox knew what he was doing as soon as the sphere consumed all the spikes the fox dispersed the growing sphere. Energy shot everywhere and Naruto could see it all breaking apart like falling meteors. Kyubi looked at his handy work and smiled. The smile quickly disappeared as he realized his time was almost up. He scanned the scene before him and quickly saw something. He had returned to normal size chakra wise, but now one tail shot out towards the fallen head.

Naruto screamed in his mind at the fox. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! GAARA'S IN THERE." the tail did not stop at all. Suddenly there was a jolt Naruto heard the demon fox roar in frustration. The tail stopped and came back. Naruto's field of vision shifted and landed on Lee. Naruto didn't hear the words Lee said as his fist connected with Naruto's jaw and sent him flying back. Suddenly behind Naruto the seal began to glow and there was an earthquake in his mind as the demon fox was forced back behind the bars. The fox's roars continued behind the bars as he was forced back into his prison.

Naruto was forcefully forced back into sole occupancy of his body. Before he was totally there the Kyubi yelled. **"Your enemy escaped, she had hidden herself in the head with the other boy." **Then suddenly the fox's voice boomed. **"DON'T FORGET YOUR WORD BRAT! THREE DAYS! DON'T DIE IN THE EXPLOSION!" **Suddenly Naruto was back in his body lying on the ground. What the hell had the fox been talking about at the end.

"What explosion?" Naruto said. Suddenly arms gripped him and he looked up to see Lee standing over him and saw Neji running towards them in the distance.

Lee had seen the fight and did not know how to react as he ran towards them. He measured his steps to see how it would developed. When he saw the tail begin to shoot out towards Gaara he accelerated at an incredible pace with seal in hand. He slapped it on Naruto just in time, the tail had almost reached its target. Naruto turned to look at him with burning red eyes. He did not hesitate. He apologized to Naruto as he launched a decapitating blow. Now that Naruto was on the ground Lee ran to him to see if they had been able to save him. Naruto asked a question, but Lee ignored it. It made sense Naruto was unaware of the explosion he had just caused having lost control. He gripped his friend and apologized once again. "I'm sorry my friend. I had to do this, it was also part of my mission." Naruto had no idea what Lee was talking about. His mind was running trying to assess the situation.

He looked Lee in the eyes and barked. "We gotta get Gaara! Let's go." Naruto didn't wait to see if Lee followed, but was up on his feet and running at top speed towards the head in which Gaara was in. As he closed the distance the Kyubi's words finally clicked. The head was the explosive. He had to get Gaara away from it. He came to the head and Lee was right behind him.

Lee saw Naruto was back to his senses and did not hesitate in following him this time at full speed. When they stopped Lee asked. "Now, what do we do?" Naruto was inspecting the head. He saw there was a hole where it had been separated from its body and in it was Gaara's unconscious body. He waved Lee over and Lee went to him. Naruto was not sure when the head would explode, but he needed to get Gaara away from it as soon as possible.

He looked at Lee and hoped his friend wouldn't ask any questions. "Lee I need you to take Gaara and run back the way we came from. As fast as you can. I have to deal with this trap." Thankfully Lee nodded his head and went to grab Gaara. Once Gaara was in his arms he nodded towards Naruto and turned back the way he came. Without hesitation he was gone, headed back to Neji. Naruto picked up the head and began running the opposite way from Lee. Naruto couldn't see the chakra inside the clay anymore and had no idea how long he had. All he knew is that he wanted to toss the head away as far as possible and return to his friends. He had covered a large amount of ground and thought the distance was enough. He stopped and launched the head out towards the empty land. As he turned around to run back his fear was realized. The head blew up. The explosion was too close to Naruto. Without the fox's chakra Naruto was not fast enough to escape the blast he was engulfed by the flames. He let out a yell. "NNNNOOOOOOO!"

Lee was reaching Neji when they heard the explosion. Lee turned back and looked for Naruto to be running on the horizon, but this sight did not greet his eyes. Neji was now standing beside him byakugan turned on and looking at the explosion. He looked as hard as he could but could not see Naruto. His mind began racing and his hopes fell. He could only hope the jutsus he had seen Naruto carrying would be enough to save him. He looked at Lee's waiting face and let him know the sad news. "I can't see Naruto." Shock overtook Lee and he dropped Gaara, he was about to run back to find Naruto when a hand gripped his shoulder. He turned to look at his friends grim face. "Don't rush to your death Lee. We have to wait for the explosion to die down first." They stood there looking at the explosion and the developing mushroom cloud. Disbelief on Lee face and hope on Neji's face.

Deidara had made her escape smoothly. She had set the head to explode at a set time after she left it. She knew the boy would not harm their captive and had created a clone and gone into the head with Gaara. Once she saw that it was safe to come out she did so and set the trap so that if anybody noticed her escape the explosion would occupy them. She smiled as the plan had gone off without a hitch. She had gaged the Jinchurikki's powers and avoided any casualties. She breathed a sigh of relief. She would have forfeit her life had the Jinchurikki died. Suddenly a voice spoke to her and surprised the hell out of her. A figure was standing not far from her shrouded in darkness with an orange swirling design on his face. "Tobi saw... you. You forgot to take into account if the target would be the one to take the bomb in hand. Like he just did." Shock registered on Deidara's face whoever this Tobi was, he was right. Tobi looked into the distance. "Don't worry, Tobi is a good boy. Tobi can keep a secret."

**PREVIEW**

Hinata, hot springs. Do I dare?

**RSO'S**

acrazygirlofmanynames- Kyubi better if he knows what's good for him. BTW, I didn't know about that folklore. Thanx for the info.

iceprincess421- deja-vu is crazy. Maybe you read the first few chapters and didn't like as much as the second time around... maybe. So I'm on that list now huh? That's great to know. Thanx for the kisses.

dragonman180- Yeah, but you know Naruto. He's not the brighest bulb in the... you know what I'm trying to say. Neji should be used to it from dealing with Lee so much, but I guess you never get used to some things. lol.

danny- Not a problem, thanx for the compliment. I forgot how many he used. I remember seeing alot, but I never really bothered to count the puppets, but thought 50 was a good number. Yeah, Kakashi's history was explored in the cannon, so I didn't just want to completely leave it out of my story. Aight, from now on I won't worry about your drinking. Lol.

I can relate to your schedule. I don't work out everyday, but its not for lack of trying, I'm usually to tired from work to work out. It's alright if you miss out, the story isn't going anywhere. Ey how could I forget you, you've been reviewing for a while now. You and others that constantly review are the main reason I keep writing. (Yeah, I'm talking about everybody that reviews every chapter, so don't feel left out.) Neji frowns to much huh. Hopefully that will change soon. Kyubi's don't have periods... at least this one doesn't. P.S. I'm only human, I'll make mistakes.

iceprincess- yup, it was a clone. The Itachi in Naruto's mind was an extension of Itachi so wow now that you point it out I guess it can be confusing. Sorry, hopefully everything was cleared up for you.

hmmm, well Kyubi does care for Naruto, in his own nobody will destroy him but me kind of way. J/K I'll explore their relationships more later on and explore Kyubi's motives. Now that you put out those ideas I have to think of other ideas so it'll be original. Thanx for the extra work (raspberries at you) No mind control, mad rage, or someone doing something to him. Hmm, no more ideas this'll be a challenge as it is.

english- I doubt you'll read this, because you couldn't get past the second chapter. but. I've gotten better!...I think.

rasendori- thanx, I'm glad you like it. Ok, so where are your other reviews. I got fifteen chapters after your last review so get to it. J/K, or am I. lol

conland- aight, just cuz it's you I'll do it.

anya urameshi- Oh, ooopps, I thought you liked cliffhangers. Hopefully you liked this chapter. Nope Gaara isn't dead yet. Hope the same can be said about Naruto. Yeah, Hirai is gonna have a much bigger part in my story. She's not part of the cannon, she's my character. Thanx for the comments though, makes me want to make up more new characters. Hint hint.


	34. Chapter 34

Man I never thought this chapter would be so long. Even now I feel like I left some things out, but I'm sure I can go back and add more details in Hinata's memories. I think. Anyways enough ranting on to the chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it, please review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**MEETING AT THE HOT-SPRINGS**

Sakura went to check on Chiyo. The news was grim her breathing was extremely labored and Sakura saw that Chiyo was not long for this world. Sakura tried to speak to Chiyo, but nothing would come out. She felt somewhat responsible for what had happened to Chiyo. As Sakura tried to gather herself to tell Chiyo the news before she passed away Chiyo's hand went to her leg and she looked up at Sakura through blurry vision. "Sakura, you did well. I know my time has come. The only regret that I have is that it took me so long to open my eyes. There is more to life then strength and missions. I learned that from you and your team. Don't forget that lesson yourself." Chiyo's hand fell away and she closed her eyes. There were tears in Sakura's eyes. Chiyo didn't open her eyes again, but she spoke weakly. "I do have one final request. Please bury me in my village. I would hate to be all alone in the desert. Also please bury my grandchild wherever you want, I know he may not deserve it, but it was not his fault he grew up the way he did." Those were Chiyo's final words.

Sakura leaned over Chiyo and nodded. "Hai, Chiyo-san. I'm sorry I wasn't able to learn more from you, but I won't forget you." Sakura said. She walked over to Kakashi and explained the situation finishing off telling him. "Please rest while I bury Sasori.You'll need all your strength for the trip back." Kakashi nodded and continued resting. He was impressed with how much Sakura had matured.

Once she finished everything she picked up Chiyo and together with Kakashi they began slowly making their way back to the village of sand.

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Neji and Lee came upon Naruto after running towards the center where the explosion took place. Naruto's clothes had been burned and were now in tatters his hair was singed and he had burn marks on his body. Neji looked at his condition and was surprised at the little damage he had actually taken. Lee saw this as well and asked Neji about it. "What do you think Neji, has Naruto really grown that strong that such an explosion had such little effect on him?"

Neji knew what had happened and explained it to him. "Actually it was something he was wearing that saved his life. I noticed it on him when he was taking off his weights. He was wearing it on a necklace. It's a protective garment from my clan." Neji saw Lee's confused look and knew he had to explain further. "It's a complex device composed of various seals each wrapped upon the other. It's wrapped so it can hold as much chakra as possible. When the person takes serious damage the seals absorb it and burn away, so the explosion burned through all the seals. I didn't know how well made it was when I saw it, but it was almost perfect considering how much it was able to absorb before completely burning out. I think it was my cousin that gave it to him." Lee still wore a bit of a confused expression, but before he could go deeper into explaining how the device had saved Naruto. Naruto stirred. Neji and Lee immediately went to his aid. "How are you feeling Naruto?" Neji asked.

Naruto was experiencing a lot of discomfort, it had been so long since he had been without the fox's chakra he had almost forgotten how bad the pain could be. Considering that he was still alive he knew he could bear it. He didn't tell Neji that however, "I'll be fine. How is Gaara?" He asked.

Lee answered this. "He's still unconscious, but he's still alive. We left him back a ways while we came here to check on you."

Naruto got up with a wince of pain. He looked at his companions and said. "So now we go back to the sand village and make sure everything is okay. Hopefully all our team mates made it back safely." Naruto said absently. He had many things on his mind and wasn't fully focused on the situation at hand.

Neji saw the sense to Naruto's words. "Hai, that would be best. We should see them back at the village if we don't see them on the way there." With that said they began making their way back to the village. They took Gaara with them and shared the duty of carrying him on their return trip to the village of sand.

Off in the distance Deidara stood watching all these events unfold with Tobi standing behind her. "It looks like there's nothing to worry about. We should go check on Sasori-san now." Deidara said.

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Evening was beginning to fall when Jiraiya called for everybody to stop. They had made it to a small clearing in the forests on a mountain. Once everybody had dismounted he turned to face them and spoke. "We're going to stop here for the night. We should set up here." He turned to his frog and said a few words. The frog suddenly vanished with a puff of smoke. He then walked to Shino and Hinata's frogs and repeated the process. "I sent them home so they could also get some rest. When we're ready to go tomorrow, I'll summon them again and we can leave." He looked at his three team mates and said. "Kiba, Shino please wait here. I would like to speak alone with Hinata." Hinata looked up at this as Kiba and Shino nodded their heads. Kiba was to tired to argue. Jiraiya looked at Hinata and asked. "Will you please accompany me?" Hinata nodded her head not sure what it was he wanted to talk about "Please bring some belongings with you as well." Jiraiya said. She obeyed and grabbed her belongings she slowly began following him. Ominous thoughts going through her mind. Did he find out about my mission? Is he going to make me return to the village by myself? She clapped her hands softly on the sides of her head above her ears. Stop thinking negatively she thought to herself. She looked up to see Jiraiya moving stealthily through the foliage and with the shadows the moon cast on him she was unable to lift her spirits. He told me to bring my stuff, of course he's planning to send me home. Thoughts like those kept flying through her head as she followed him. She was beginning to think she should just run away and avoid the situation when Jiraiya finally stopped. Hinata took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worst. Jiraiya saw the look on Hinata's face and smiled. "Relax, Hinata. It's not like I'm going to send you home." He laughed at Hinata's shocked expression. That's exactly what she had thought. Maybe he's psychic she thought, the silliness of the thought wiped it away from her mind immediately.

Her question stuttered out of her mouth before she could really think about it. "S-so, w-why did y-you ask me o-out here?" She said, she wished she hadn't stuttered immediately. She was always like that around new people and Naruto. She blushed as she thought of Naruto. She blushed even harder as Jiraiya saw her blushing and commented on it.

"So you did think I was going to make you go home by yourself. There's no need to worry about that, we're team mates now." He waited for her to stop blushing before going on, it didn't take long when she realized what he thought. As her blush faded she waited for him to continue. "I called you out here for a number of reasons." He lifted his hand with the index finger sticking up. "First we are now a team and we will commence training tomorrow. So the first reason I called you out here is to let you know that." His middle finger popped up. "Second, knowing that I want you to think about what area of your skills you want to work on." His ring finger popped up. "Third I am a Sannin, a great one at that so you have nothing to worry about, whatever you pick. I can definitely help you with." She smiled as his pinky finger went up. He sounded so much like Naruto when he gave her the third reason. "Fourth and this is not by any means not important. There is a hot springs in this area you can use to relax tonight. Get rested up and refreshed so you can be ready for tomorrow's activities." Hinata looked up at this. She had not expected these news. Perhaps that is why he asked her to bring her belongings. Jiraiya got up as he kept talking. He pointed into a clearing and said. "You just go a little ways through this clearing here and you should find it easily enough. _There might even be other girls there..._but more then likely you might be alone. I'm going to show Kiba and Shino another hot-spring where us guys can relax. Whenever your done, just find your way back to camp and we'll regroup in the morning." He then looked at Hinata with an almost goofy look on his face and said. "Ok then see ya' tomorrow." He waved and went back on to the camp with a evil grin on his face.

Hinata felt relief and a sense of gratitude for having been put in the same group as Jiraiya-san. He seemed like such a good leader. (She didn't see his evil grin as he walked away.) "Arigatou, Jiraiya-san." She said. She watched him leave and then turned to search for the hot-spring.

It didn't take Hinata long to find the hot-springs. It was empty when she got there. Guess Jiraiyas was right about it more than likely being her by herself. She didn't mind however it would be good to relax by herself and unwind. She quickly used her byakugan to scan the surrounding areas for peeping tom's. There was no sign of any. She breathed a little sigh of relief and began to undress. Once she was fully unclothed she walked into the steaming water. When her foot made contact with the water the sensation sent shivers down her body. She walked around the water enjoying the heat and dipped her head in the water. She came up and whipped her head back sending her hair flying over her head and drops of water everywhere. She reached up with her hands and wiped her face. She let out a giggle and then commented to herself. "Wow, that felt great. Hee hee, this feels wonderful." She said. She felt so free out here the feeling was exhilarating to her. She spotted the perfect place to relax almost immediately. There was a large stone with smaller stones pushed up against it. She got up and began walking towards it. Skimming the water with the tips of her fingers. The water came up just a little way above her belly-button. She looked down at the stones and admired the set-up. Somebody had put in a lot of effort in this hot-spring, the rocks were very smooth and looked inviting. She didn't resist the invitation, she quickly sat down and leaned against the larger stone. The water came up to her neck and she felt like she was in heaven she closed her eyes and let her thoughts run where ever they wanted to. The first thing she thought of was how she wanted to get stronger. She hated the way she stuttered, but she couldn't help herself. Thinking of this lead her to comparing herself to Naruto. He's so strong so sure of himself. He never stutters, I want to be more like him. These thoughts led to her thinking about how she wanted to be with him. She put her hands in her lap and relaxed even more. She wasn't aware that she muttered Naruto's name to herself. She had gotten lost in romantic thoughts of Naruto. She was so deep in her own thoughts she didn't notice the two strangers that had arrived and joined her in the hot- springs.

Suddenly a soft voice with an osakan accent broke into her thoughts. "Those are really pretty."

Hinata started at the sound of the voice. "W-what are y-y-you talking a-bou...w-who a-ar y-y-you?" Hinata stammered as she looked down and saw the upper half of a head poking out of the water. Before Hinata had time to make any observation the young girl responded.

She reached her hand under the water and said. "I'm talking about these." She grabbed one of Hinata's breasts. Hinata's hair suddenly became very unruly and she pressed herself against the rock behind her trying to get away from this crazy person. She threw up and arm to guard herself as the young girl introduced herself. "My name's Aun. Pleased to meet'cha. So what's your name is? Hmmm?" The girl asked clearly unaware of Hinata's distress. Either that or completely ignoring it.

She may have wanted to ignore it, but the older girl behind her was all to aware of it. She spoke in a normal accent. "You know it's unhealthy to stress out like that. You really ought to relax. You were doing so well before Aun surprised you. I swear you looked a million miles away." She let out a light and friendly laugh. "Don't worry about us, c'mon Aun. We should let the missus calm her nerves." Aun looked disappointed as she followed the older girl. Head still submerged in the water. She turned to Hinata and waved good-bye. Even though they didn't go far.

Hinata got over her shock quickly enough. She was still blushing hard thinking of how they had snuck upon her so easily and how that little girl had the nerve to grab her breast like that. Hinata thought the embarrassment was going to kill her. She let herself sink underwater to drown out some of the embarrassment. She balled her hands into fists and clapped them softly on her head. She had a long way to go still. She came up out of the water and let out a long sigh. Okay, Hinata you can do this. You can be brave she thought to herself. She gathered her courage and stood up. She walked over to the two girls and tried to introduce herself. "D-demo, g-gomen about earlier, I-I m-my name is Hinata." She said her thumbs had unconsciously found their way towards each other and were twiddling as she made her introduction. She pulled them apart as soon as she was aware of this and blushed slightly. The older girl was sitting behind the younger girl fixing her hair.

The two girls looked up at Hinata. Hinata was taken a little aback as she saw the two girls for the first time with observing eyes. The older girl had the top part of her hair pulled into a large bun, which was unruly and really reminded her of Naruto's hair on top of that it was blond as well. The lower half fell loosely down a little bit past her shoulders. She had a very elegant slim face and her eyes were also blue, but they were a few shades lighter than Narutos, a soft smile on her face. The younger child surprised her even more. She also had blond hair, but through it ran streaks of white. Her hair hung loosely and was held in place by large beads, two strands falling in front of her ears and three behind. Her eyes matched Naruto's eyes in every way. They had the same shade and naked honesty she had seen in Naruto's eyes. Underneath her eyes on her cheek she had a mark underneath each eye. A thin line that looked almost like a whisker. She wore a smile as well and responded in a friendly way. "Hi, Hinata-chan, you can call me Aun-chan. That sounds cute doesn't it?" She was beginning to extend her hand to shake Hinata's when a comment from the older girl stopped her.

The older girl chided. "The way you act sometimes she should call you Aun-bozu." She laughed at her own joke. A vain appeared on Aun's face as she crossed her arms over her chest and shot a look back at the older girl.

Aun looked at Hinata with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Xephelin is being mean to me because she's jealous that you have a much prettier body than her." She was beginning to grin when two hands pushed her down into the water.

A vain was now on the older girls face as she said. "Children should be seen, not heard." The older girl looked up a Hinata quickly composing herself. "Ahem, my names Xephelin, but you can call me Xeph-chan." She reached out her hand and shook Hinata's hand. Hinata was blushing, because of the comment Aun made before she was forcefully submerged.

Hinata stuttered her salutation. "H-hi, Xeph-c-chan." she put a little effort into her handshake, but it was too late. Xeph's attention was on Aun once again as she was speaking.

Aun had a pout on her face and said. "Why are you so mean Xeph-sempai. One day I'll grow up and have a pair just like Hinata-chan's." She said. She wrapped her arms tightly around her chest and Hinata blushed fiercely. Aun stuck her tongue out at Xephelin as she turned to Hinata.

There was a slight blush on her face as she spoke. "Anyways don't mind her, she can be a handfull sometimes."Xephelin said, Hinata nodded at this. She looked to Aun and saw she had disappeared. She started once again as she turned and saw the young girl standing next to her looking at her with wide eyes. How did she get there Hinata wondered. She hadn't even noticed her move.

"You have very pretty hair, Hinata-chan. May I braid it?" she was making puppy dog eyes.

Hinata wanted to refuse, but just couldn't bring herself to do so. "H-hai, I don't mind." which she didn't, but she felt maybe it was moving too fast. She brightened at the idea though. I'm opening up easily to strangers she thought to herself a smile playing on her lips.

Xephelin had gotten out of the pool and was setting up some buckets. "Come over here Hinata-chan, I'll wash your back while Aun-hokai braids your hair." she said with a friendly smile on her face as she placed a towel on the upside down bucket. She then went to gather some water in the other bucket.

Hinata was surprised at their friendliness and before she could comment on it Aun had taken her hand and was leading her towards the buckets. "C'mon Hinata-chan, I'm gonna make you look even prettier." Aun said enthusiastically.

Hinata let herself be led, but commented on Aun's last comment. "A-arigatou, a-ano, I'm n-not that pretty, I-I." she was suddenly cut off as Aun turned around and looked at her.

Aun couldn't believe her ears, here was this beautiful girl who didn't even know how beautiful she was. "Hinata-chan, I don't care what you think. You're beautiful, don't argue with me, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you my beautiful new friend are way prettier then Xephelin." She was beginning to smile at Hinata when a towel struck the side of her head. Hinata looked to see Xephelin waiting by the buckets with a large vain on her forehead. Aun didn't let go of Hinata's hand, with her free hand she pulled the towel off of her head. A vain clearly showing on her head. Hinata didn't see the motion exactly, but suddenly the towel was gone from Aun's hands and when she looked Xephelin was holding an empty bucket facing towards them inside the bucket was the towel that had just been covering Aun-chan's head. Aun yelled at Xephelin. "YOU BIG MEANIE!" Hinata felt Aun's hand tighten around hers as Aun tensed for a fight.

She saw Xephelin pulling the bucket back and heard her yell back. "You wanna see mean, I'll show you mean!" Hinata saw the intention clearly.

She didn't want to see them fight so suddenly and spoke up in a clear voice. "Please don't fight." Hinata said this in a loud clear voice that got both of the other girls to stop and look at her. Xephelin let out a laugh as she began to gather water again with the bucket in her hands. Aun looked at Hinata with a smile on her face.

Xephelin apologized. "Gomen, I guess we shouldn't have let ourselves get carried away." She was still busy gathering the water.

Aun turned to Hinata and whispered. "Really now, she's the one that should show more restraint. She's my sempai after all. Right Hinata?" Aun looked at Hinata with those puppy dog eyes waiting for her to agree with her. Hinata nodded her head in agreement after a moment, not really sure if she did agree. Aun then whispered something to Hinata that forcibly reminded her of Naruto. "It's a good thing you stopped us. I wouldn't want to beat her up in front of a new friend." A smile full of confidence spread on Aun's face as she tugged on Hinata's arm and she turned to drag her towards the buckets. They ran past a mumbling Xephelin with a vain on her forehead. She had heard every word Aun had said and was using all her restrain at the moment.

A few moments later the situation had calmed down and they were all conversating. Xephelin was behind Hinata washing her back and Aun was braiding her hair. She was just going to braid the locks that fell over Hinata's ears. She was still braiding the first braid when she asked Hinata. "Why do you stutter so much?"

Hinata was surprised by the bluntness of the question and did exactly that when she tried to respond. "I-it's...I don't do it on purpose. I j-just, I guess it's just a bad habit." Hinata said. She really didn't know how to respond.

Aun saw Hinata was about to hang her head and put her hand under her chin to prevent her from doing so. "It's okay Hinata-chan, don't feel bad. I thought it was some kind of speech imped'ment." Aun smiled at her new friend.

Xephelin corrected Aun. "It's impediment. Anyhow from what I understand stuttering has to do with one's confidence. The more conviction you have in what you're saying the less likely you are to stutter. I'm not sure if there's a speech disorder that causes stuttering though." Xephelin finished.

Hinata knew everything that Xephelin said was true, but she really didn't know what the solution to the problem was. Aun's voice as it was starting to become familiar broke into her thoughts. "Is that true Hinata? It's not true is it? You believe in yourself right?" Aun said in an almost pleading voice.

Hinata was about to stutter as she answered, but caught herself. So instead of stuttering she drew out the h in her answer. "H-ai, I believe in myself." Hinata said. She felt good as she said that. Saying that in front of these two girls had some sort of effect on her. It made her feel more confident in herself. "I g-uess I just have to work on my confidence." She caught herself from stuttering on the guess.

Aun smiled at this. "Nuh-uh, you don't work on your confidence you work on believing in yourself. I believe in you Hinata." Hinata looked up at Aun and met her deep blue eyes for the first time directly. "I see great potential in you Hinata-chan, plus your a good person. You just need to believe you can reach your potential." Hinata felt grateful for these words, it was so rare for someone anyone to be so kind to her. Aun was finishing the braid and when she finished it she held Hinata's braid with one hand and with the other took off one of her own large beads that held it in place. Hinata's eyes widened as she saw her put her own bead on her braid. "These beads are to remind you of your potential. One day we'll meet again and I want you to still have them. A bond yes, from kohai to sempai." Aun said.

Hinata was honored, but she didn't feel she deserved the gift. "I'm not your sempai, I haven't taught you anything, you barely know me." Hinata protested.

Aun countered quickly. "Nuh-uh that's not true. You taught me there is a good person out there. That good person is you. What else do I need to know." Aun said as she began the second braid.

Hinata had no response to this. She started again as Xephelin spoke into her ear. She had been so focused on Aun she had almost forgotten about Xephelin. "She's special isn't she. Even in our clan." Xephelin said in a softer tone from before. Hinata could sense a lot of warmth in her voice.

Something occurred to Hinata as she listened to Xephelin. "Were you named after the flower." Hinata asked her.

Xephelins eyes widened a little bit and a smile formed on her face. "Oh, you're good. Yup, I sure was. Okay let's see how good you are. Wanna guess how old we are?" Xephelin asked.

Hinata took a good look at them and took a guess. "You're I think seventeen and Aun you're fifteen. Am I close?" She could tell by the look on Aun's face that she wasn't.

Xephelin answered however. "Kind of close. I just turned eighteen and Aun is about to turn thirteen." She said. Hinata turned to Aun and smiled. She hadn't been to far off.

She asked Aun. "So you're twelve?"

Aun's face contorted and as if Hinata had just said something obscene. "NANI! No, no, no way! I'm eleven. I'm skipping twelve!" Aun said.

Hinata was puzzled by Aun's reaction and two questions fell out of her mouth. "Can you do that? Why would you want to skip twelve?" Hinata for some reason always thought thirteen was the bad luck number, but Aun seemed to think differently.

Aun's answer came quickly. "Hai, of course you can do that! Didn't you know! Well that's okay, anyways I'm skipping twelve because that's the number of the god of misfortune." Aun said matter of factly.

"What's that m-mean." Hinata asked unaware that she had stuttered.

Xephelin answered this question. "Each entity we believe in we associate with a number. I guess it can be complex to those unfamiliar to it, but basically it goes like this. Ten is the god of life, eleven is fortune, twelve is misfortune and thirteen is death." Hinata had never heard of this, but she loved stories.

"So isn't thirteen worse?" Hinata asked.

Xephelin thought about this before answering. "You could look at it that way, but to us death is natural and happens to everybody, misfortune on the other hand is something we can avoid." She said.

Hinata thought she understood. Aun skipped her twelve year so she would have less associated with the god of misfortune. That made sense in a way. Hinata liked this conversation, she felt like she was really learning something here. "So that's what you two were brought up to believe?" Hinata asked.

Aun reacted quickly to this. "It's not our belief. They're concrete, I was touched by the shinigami." Aun dropped the braid she was working on and was bringing her hands together when Xephelin reached over Hinata and poked her on the head.

"Quit that Aun-chan. Finish Hinata-chan's braid." Xephelin said. Aun pouted, but seemed to see the reason in this and went back to braiding Hinata's hair. Hinata felt disappointed somehow, like she was about to witness something amazing and it was taken away from her. However this was quickly forgotten as her face turned beet red. Xephelin leaned against her back and she whispered into Hinata's ears. "So tell us Hinata-chan who was the lucky guy occupying your mind when we found you?" Hinata was so shocked by that question she didn't know how to react.

Hinata suddenly began stuttering again. "W-what are y-you talking a-about? I wasn't think- why do you say t-that?" Hinata's discomfort was obvious to the girls now and they both began joking around with her. She couldn't do anything as Aun was still braiding her hair.

After a while of this Hinata and the others spent some more time in the springs relaxing and getting to know each other. Hinata left after a long while and waved at them as she left. She got dressed and left. Leaving her two new friends in the springs. While she didn't tell them a lot about Naruto she described him well enough to leave a good impression on them. They thought he was stupid for not begging her to be his girlfriend. Hinata thanked Aun for the two braids and promised to keep the beads and not forget her. They made fun of her for her fashion sense when they saw her big coat and said something that made her think. That big coat is probably why your crush doesn't pay you much mind Xephelin joked. Even though it was a joke it left an impression on Hinata. Hinata was leaving the clearing and beginning to walk back when he realized something. She hadn't asked them about their clan or who they really were. She turned around to head back when she heard the snapping of branches. She was quickly on alert and began scanning the area. Who could be out there she wondered.

**PREVIEW**

Who is in the woods? What will happen to our heroine and will our heroes in the desert make it back without incident.

**RSO'S**

acrazygirlofmanynames- Hope you like this chapter.

snakeeyes- thanx for all the reviews.

danny- man, I hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter. Yeah, she should have died, but she wouldn't be such a dangerous person if she died to easily. Yeah, when they meet again, it should be very interesting how much they've changed.

alana- that was kind of my intention. Then again I can't just kill him off yet now can I? Hmm. yeah that's gaara they saved, Deidara had just snuck in with him, before making her escape.

jeefus- Damn I hope I didn't disappoint, I just added more mystery with the introduction of some new characters, but they should stay on your mind, they're gonna play a huge part down the line. I'll try to get more explaining done next chapter and some more interaction with our heroes as they recover from there experiences.

dragonman180- well, some girls are seeing her, but we'll find out if anybody else was lucky enough to get a peek in next chapter.

sagazlegend- Thanx, wait it's not in you fav story group yet. What's that all about? J/K thanx for reviewing.

causiambetta- hope your enjoying your travels. Thanx for the compliments, the bargaining with Kyubii should be interesting. How will Naruto handle it?

narashikamaru21- dude, I read some of your story and it is badass, hope I didn't disappoint and make your nose bleed without good reason. Thank you.


	35. Chapter 35

Sorry about the delay, but football season's back. YEAH BABY, FOOTBALL'S BACK. Okay, now that that's out of my system I hope everybody enjoys this chapter.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**A RETURN AT DUSK**

Xephelin was back in the water relaxing. She looked over to Aun who was playing in the water and said. "So why did you give her your beads?" She asked, this had been something that had been bugging her. Aun had never done something like that before.

Aun stopped playing and looked at her sempai. She raised her shoulders and responded. "I liked her. Besides I think we'll see her again someday and I'll get them back." She said off-handedly. She looked at Xeph wondering why she had asked the question. "Why?" She voiced her curiosity.

Xeph looked at her deciding how wise it would be to answer her truthfully. After a few moments she figured there was nothing to loose. "I may be reading to much into it, but did you ever consider she might be attacked if someone recognized those beads as coming from our clan." She saw the incredulous look on Aun's face and elaborated. "I know we haven't had problems because we're always on the move and we don't know who could be after us. Don't you worry about her safety though." Xeph asked.

Aun hadn't thought of that. Even now she didn't really grasp all the implications of what her sempai said. She answered with a smile on her face. "Hinata is strong, she'll be able to handle whatever problems come her way. I believe in her."

Xeph let out an long exasperated sigh. She lowered her head and thought, typical Aun. She raised her head with a glint in her eye previous conversation already forgotten. "It's time for me to wash you." She said.

Aun stiffened at these words she looked at Xeph and saw she was serious. She also saw Xeph was ready for it. Aun looked from Xeph to where her pile of clothes were on the other side of the huge stone. When her gaze returned to Xeph there was a wicked smile on her face. Suddenly there was an explosion of water as Aun raced towards her clothes and Xephelin moved with equal speed to cut her off. They found themselves standing behind the stone staring each other down.

Hinata had heard the branch snapping and followed the sound. She walked into a thick area of the woods where she saw the dark silhouette of a man. She paused for a moment considering the situation, her anger steadily rising as she came to the conclusion that it was a peeping tom. As she thought about it that seemed to be the only logical conclusion. She never thought she would run into one so she had never thought how she would react, but seeing this person she felt an unfamiliar desire to inflict pain on this individual. While she had a strong sense of honor she felt he didn't deserve a warning. She stealthily walked up to where he was at and was delivering a blow aimed at his head when he turned to see her. Her eyes widened in shock as the person who met her gaze was Kiba. She was unable to stop her punch in time as her fist connected with his face in a sickening thud. Kiba went down falling a couple of feet from her. She immediately went to his side. She cradled his head in her arms and felt relief when she saw he had not lost consciousness. She asked "What are you doing here." even though the shock had erased her anger it was starting to slowly come back to her. She was expecting to be really angry with him until he told her his story.

Kiba had been searching for Jiraiya when his ears picked up the slight noise behind him and he turned to meet a fierce punch from his friend. As he lay there he was too groggy to be outraged at what had just happened. He heard her question and mumbled his answer. "I-I was lo-looking for Jai- I mean Jiraya-sam... san." Damn his jaw hurt.

That explanation didn't satisfy Hinata. "What happened why are you looking for him here? Is everything okay?" She asked. As she listened to Kiba's story her anger turned to worry.

Kiba was moving his jaw trying to regain his composure. "I.. Jiraiya had taken us to a hot-spring on the other side of the forest. He told us not to worry about you that you were relaxing, but I didn't really trust him. He seemed anxious. After a while he left us saying he had to go look into something. I thought he was talking about you so I followed to see where he was going, but I lost him around this area. G-gomen. Are you okay, Hinata?" Kiba asked. Genuine concern in his voice.

Hinata felt ashamed now. He had only been worried about her. She had reacted too brashly, that was really unlike her. "Don't worry Kiba. I'm fine." She lay him down and said. "I'll find Jiraiya-san. Please wait here and rest. I'll be back soon." She got up determined and left Kiba resting as she went to find Jiraiya. She activated her byakugan as she walked and began to scan the surrounding areas.

It didn't take her long to spot a male figure in the woods. She slowly made her way towards him sure that it had to be Jiraiya, there was no mistaking his unique outfit. She wanted to see his face just to make sure. As she drew closer he turned and she was able to verify that it was indeed him. She successfully got within earshot without being noticed. She didn't know what he was doing, but he was clearly occupied with something. She didn't want to make assumptions again, but she didn't like the grin he was wearing on his face when he looked around. She felt that he was doing something suspicious from the expression on his face. After a few moments of watching him she assumed she had been wrong and was about to come out of hiding when he sealed his fate with the next few words. "These girls had better be beautiful. Damn traps. Don't they know I'm Jiraiya." He let out a grunt of effort as he began to do something. Hinata had no idea what he was doing, but she felt her anger rise.

He was thinking about beautiful girls which had to mean he was thinking about peeping. She stepped out of hiding and Jiraiya noticed her and winced as he was distracted from what he was doing. Hinata still had her blood limit turned on when she asked, "You want to peep on the girls in the hot spring?" the shade of her eyes darkening a little bit.

Jiraiya said uneasily, "Hinata... it's not what it looks like." He was unable to continue as Hinata hit his tenkoutsous without mercy. She had seen the momentary shift in his eyes and knew he was going to try to lie to her. She knew in the back of her head that he wouldn't have been caught off-guard so easily had he been serious.

She couldn't believe him, this was who the Hokage had sent them with. All her naïve impressions of what a wonderful person they were traveling with evaporated. "Y-you're horrible Jiraiya-san." she said. She stepped forward and unleashed a powerful open palm blow in the center of his chest which sent him flying through the forest and into the hot-spring. Hinata turned and returned the way she came fuming. She went to find Kiba and return to camp thinking it would be best to return to Konoha. She had scanned the hot-spring and it was now deserted she didn't want to think about Jiraiya right now.

Unfortunately she didn't see that behind the large stone Aun and Xephelin were having a fight of their own. They had been going at it for quite some time now matching each other in speed and efficiency. They only used hand to hand moves yet neither had landed a blow yet. They were parrying and counterattacking at a rising speed. Xephelin was beginning to gain an advantage as the fight wore on. However as they fought she sensed that one of her traps had been tripped. Her eyes widened a little bit and her head twitched wanting to see where it was that the trap had been triggered. She knew the moment her head twitched she had made a mistake and began cursing, "SSSSHHH." Aun saw the minute opening and didn't hesitate to take it. She delivered an open palmed blow that would have made Hinata proud. Xephelin flew backwards her yell trailing her. "iiiittttt." Aun didn't pay much mind to that she rushed to her clothes and had them on with blinding speed. A huge smile spread on her face as she had successfully evaded being washed by Xeph. She looked down at herself, she was wearing khaki shorts and a black undershirt. She was beginning to put on her socks when a form came flying from the forest nearby. She had put one on and was putting the other one on when the flying object was close to colliding with her. She lifted the foot she was pulling the sock onto and extended it abruptly halting the flying object. She looked down on the object and saw it was some shaggy old man.

She immediately got down on her haunches and began examining him. She was really puzzled she saw his tenkoutsous had been hit, but she couldn't have done that with her feet. She didn't understand, but she hit them again releasing his chakra pathways once again. She leaned over him and in a happy voice asked. "Hey mister, are you okay?" She saw he was regaining his breath. She really didn't understand what had happened, had she hit his chest with her foot hard enough to do all that to him? A sense of pride flowed through her as she thought 'I'm getting super strong now. I even beat Xephelin in hand to hand'.

Jiraiya was regaining his breath and was barely getting aware of his when he heard Aun's question. He tried to answer and found himself still lacking air. Hinata's strength had surprised him as well as the appearance of this stranger. He focused and was shocked as the facial features in front of him came into focus. However that was short lived as a cold female voice answered the question for him. "He's a peeping tom Aun. So he's not about to be." Aun had frozen as she heard Xeph's voice. "If you don't want me to kick your ass then kick his ass while I get dressed and make sure he doesn't see me." Xephelin said.

Jiraiya thought the situation was surreal. He was about to begin laughing when a small hand grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground. He looked into what felt like familiar blue eyes and gulped as the young girl in front of him looked at him with such innocent eyes. "I'm sorry mister, but I don't want to fight my sempai anymore today." Aun said in a soft apologetic voice. Jiraiya saw she was serious and was about to react when all of a sudden pain began to explode all over his body and his vision went white. His last conscious thought was I can't believe a little girl is about to try and beat me up. He would wake up about an hour later in to much pain to move and the question in his mind which he weakly voiced as he lay there looking at the sky. "Who the hell was that little girl?" He would lay there for a very long time.

Hinata found Kiba playing with Akamaru's fur. He looked up at her when he heard her approach. "No luck huh? I guess that's to be expected, damn sannin bastard." Kiba said. Hinata didn't say anything to contradict him. Maybe it would be better this way. She would have some more time to figure out how to tell him what happened. She let him keep talking. "Akamaru found me a little while after you left. Showing off his tracking skills." He chuckled at this as Akamaru gave his face a lick. "We should head back to camp and wait for the old man. You wanna ride Akamaru?" Kiba asked Hinata. She shook her head, thankful it had been Kiba that had come out here and not Shino. Kiba turned and began walking, Hinata followed, "So what were you doing?" Kiba asked.

Hinata began to tell him about the hot-springs and even about the strange girls she had met. She didn't go into too much detail even though Kiba wanted physical specifics. They went back to camp in this manner chatting away and relaxing. The spoke about their conversations with Kiba and what they thought he was like. Hinata was very reserved when she spoke about him still not sure what to think. They would have to talk with Shino when they got back to camp.

/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Back at the village of sand Hirai was taking a break. She was reflecting on all the recent activity. She had helped out when the first group returned. Temari was with them and they had returned with an injured Tenten. Even though Hirai didn't know the details of the situation, it looked grim to her. She didn't let it get to her, because there was still others out there. Temari had asked her to take Gai and Tenten to get medical attention. Hirai had been the first to greet them because she had been looking for them from her place. She had run out to the gates when she noticed them out in the sand. They had been moving very fast so Hirai had expected to hear good news. To say she was disappointed was a bit of an understatement. She worked hard to check her emotions and as usual nobody could tell what she was thinking. She was mad though, mad that they had returned without Gaara, mad that they hadn't gone back out to help him. She wanted to yell at her sempai, but held her tongue, she had to trust Temari she was closer to Gaara then she was and Hirai's emotions calmed down as she saw the situation. As she led Gai to the medics she asked him. "What happened to her?"

Gai looked at their escort and decided it wouldn't hurt to tell her. He wasn't going to divulge to many details though, Temari had asked him to let her handle the situation upon arriving. However he felt this young girl had a connection with Gaara and deserved to know what was happening, he decided to give her information if she asked the right questions. He answered her first question. "Tenten was hurt in battle against a very powerful opponent. We were lucky to defeat him and get back here." He responded.

Hirai wanted to know more details about the fight and the opponent he mentioned, but she could find that out later. What she really wanted to know she now asked. "What's going to happen now?"

Gai didn't really know how much to tell her, but he answered as best he could. "Temari will discuss it with the elders here, but for the time being we'll wait." He saw the slight change in Hirai's facial expression before it returned to her normal expression. He knew she was worried. "We still have others out there, two from my team went to help the first group. Don't worry they are very capable. They will not fail." He said. He knew this would not put her worries to rest, but it was the best he could do right now. They arrived at the medics room and she told them to go inside. As he was entering he paused and asked her name.

Hirai looked at him and was a little taken aback by his caring expression. She didn't see many of those around the village. She gave him her name without much hesitation. "Hirai...Arigatou." She said as she turned and hurried away. Her spirits lifted a little as she walked away.

A long time afterwards Kakashi and Sakura returned with Chiyo. Hirai wasn't aware of what was happening, because she had finally caught up with Temari and they arrived as she and Temari were beginning to talk. Everything was forgotten as they went to tend to Kakashi and deal with the death of Chiyo. Her younger brother was present and even though Hirai didn't know Chiyo that well she felt a pang of loss and couldn't fathom the sorrow that her brother must have been feeling. Temari let Hirai accompany her as they spoke with Sakura and received her report. Kakashi joined Tenten in the medical wing as he needed rest to recover from the return journey. Gai had helped escort Kakashi to the medics station. Sakura's report was not uplifting for them and did not do much to garner hope. Temari and the others were especially surprised to know that Sasori had been killed. Hirai didn't know who they were talking about, but sensed the respect with which they talked to Sakura afterwards. Once Sakura finished her report in front of Temari and the elders they quickly began discussing their course of action. The elders did not want to dispatch the team that Temari had requested earlier after hearing Sakura's report. There was a long argument as Temari tried her best to convince them they should still try to get Gaara back. However the elders decided it would be best to wait and if Gaara did not return find a new Kage. Temari slammed her fist on the table they had been standing in front of and called the elders cowards. She was shaking with anger as she stormed out of the room. Hirai followed her sharing her anger. Sakura also followed them and caught up to them outside of the room. "Temari." Sakura called out. Temari and Hirai stopped and turned to look at her. Sakura saw the tears on Temari's cheeks she could not speak, but just waited to hear what Sakura had to say. "Naruto is still out there. I can feel it, he won't fail. I know you might not know this, but he's gotten stronger he would die before failing and I know he's still alive so I know he won't fail." Sakura believed what she said, she might be foolish in thinking she would know if Naruto died, but that is how she felt. Temari smiled, she knew Naruto's strength.

She smiled slightly. Her voice broke a little as she talked, but her words came out clearly. "Gomen, I forgot how strong Naruto is. Thank you for reminding me." Temari said. Hirai had watched this exchange and her curiosity about this Naruto person grew exponentially.

Now as she sat reflecting on the day in her special spot with Temari she asked her sempai. "Temari-chan." She said, Temari didn't turn to look at her, but Hirai knew she was listening. "Who is this Naruto and why do you have such faith in him?" Hirai asked.

Temari stood up surprising Hirai and spoke. "Naruto is a friend of ours, a friend of Gaara's. I believe in him because he's not meant to fail and he didn't fail this time either." Hirai saw tears on Temari's eyes again and followed her gaze to see three dots out in the darkening night. As soon as she spotted them Temari began moving to greet them.

**PREVIEW**

What will team eight do? Will they leave the perve... Jiraiya in the wilderness. Now that Naruto's returned what will happen.

**RSO'S**

acrazygirlofmanynames- Yup, see I kinda know what I'm doing. lol damn how did you know he's in the woods.

zoneshifterd- sorry, I try. Hope you enjoy the rest of it.

Narashikamaru21- Man you sound worse than Jiraiya. lol J/K glad you like it. Ey thanx for writing the story so far so good, It won't distract me too much. Unless it's really really good, then I'll have to quit writing mine and follow yours. lol.

venomlord- You think so. You might have a point, though, should have thought of a better scenario huh, sorry couldn't help myself. I'll take choice c.

dragonman180- gotta give credit where credit is due, you gave me the idea for this chapter a while back. Wow, sounds like your a little overprotective of Hinata, glad I'm not the one peeping on her. lol J/K. Oh I can't comment on that right now, bastard stop making guesses like that your killing the suspense. J/K.

danny- How can you be mad it was just a friendly ummm... moving on thanx for not being disappointed. You'll be surprised when they show up in the story down the road.

mastersprtn117- Sorry, it was. Thanx.

causeiambetta- Thanx, I'm glad you liked it. Also thanx for the message.


	36. Chapter 36

Here's the latest update hope everyone enjoys.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**RETURN FROM THE MISSION, SUCCESS**

Naruto and the others had not rushed themselves to get back to the village. Neji had checked out Gaara before they began their return journey and saw that Gaara would pull through physically. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but he knew that their was no danger of him dying on the return journey. They poured water into his mouth which his body reflexively swallowed. They then began their slow journey back each of them taking turns carrying Gaara. There was minimal talk most of the way with the current situation weighing on their mind. As they walked by where their comrades fights took place they noted their friends weren't there so their spirits lifted somewhat. Each hoping that their assumption that their friends were fine were right. They knew there was a possibility they could be ambushed and that the others had failed, but they took their precautions with Neji using his blood limit to scout out the area ahead of them. In this manner they made their way slowly back to the village of sand. Neji finally saw the signs of the village with his byakugan and when he informed the others of this they felt a great sense of relief. Naruto got up quickly and let out a yell of relief. This was also part of what they did Lee and Naruto sitting an watching over Gaara while Neji scouted the area. Naruto exclaimed loudly and with a hint of pride. "Thanks too us the mission is complete! We did good huh!"

Lee smiled and agreed with him on this. "Konohas brightest weren't meant to fail! Right Neji!" Lee asked.

Neji looked back at his comrades amazed at how loose they were and said. "I don't know if it was thanks too us that Gaara's alive, also had it not been for Naruto's protection he would also be dead. I'm glad we succeeded, but I can't help but think this whole thing with Gaara's kidnappers is suspicious." Neji finished.

Naruto yelled at him quickly. "Damn Neji! Why are you always such a killjoy! You should be thankful for our success! Damn it, fine be a Neji, me and fuzzy eyebrows here don't mind being the heroes." Naruto said as he heaved Gaara up and began walking.

Lee walked behind him and said. "You don't need to call me that anymore Naruto. Now that I've grown my eyebrows are perfectly proportioned." He rubbed his eyebrows a little bit as he walked.

A loud laugh escaped Naruto's lips that he quickly covered up by fake coughing. Only Lee could have been fooled by that fake cough. Asking Naruto if he was okay Naruto answered. "G-gomen Lee. I think some sand got caught in my throat. I'll keep that in mind though, perfectly proportioned eye-brows." Naruto had to stifle another laugh.

Lee said. "Arigatou, Naruto-kun. That is the beauty of communication."

Neji was following behind them mumbling to himself. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean, be a Neji. Dammit Naruto your being crude as always.' Darkness was almost completely upon them now.

It didn't take long for them to come within eye distance of the village and shortly after that they saw two figures coming out of the villages gates. Shortly thereafter Temari and Hirai came upon them. Temari immediately going to Gaara and putting her hand on his forehead almost in disbelief. Naruto saw she had been crying and looked away when she said in a breaking voice. "Arigatou Naruto. I had faith you and the others wouldn't fail.

Naruto had looked away and right at Hirai. She was staring at him. He had no idea who she was, but he thought she was staring a little to hard and it made him a little uncomfortable. Temari was thanking Neji and Lee and turned to Naruto beckoning him to follow. Naruto did so with the others in tow. He felt that creepy girls stare on his back though and thought. Damn she's almost as weird as Hinata.

Once inside Temari had Naruto carry Gaara to the medics station to get examined. A yell got his attention. "NARUTO!" Naruto turned to see Sakura running towards them. She stopped a few feet from him a smile on her face and tear stains on her cheek. Seeing his condition the first question out of Sakura's mouth was, "Are you okay, what happened?" She asked she had wanted to hug him, but seeing Gaara in his arms she had to be a little more formal.

Naruto let out a chuckle and answered. "I'm okay Sakura, it's no big deal. Can you look at Gaara though he hasn't regained consciousness since we got him back." Naruto asked.

"Bring him to a bed in the medical station I'll look at him there." Sakura said.

Hirai and the others were a little uneasy that a Konoha shinobi was thinking about examining their Kage first, but before any of them could voice and objection Temari hurried them along. "Quit wasting time and get him checked out. His well being is really important to us, stop wasting time." Temari said. Her apparent faith in the Konoha nin quieted everyone's unease including Hirai.

Naruto first reaction was to want to retort, but he saw she had all the reason in the world and Sakura was already moving. "Gomen, we're going." As they walked Naruto whispered to Gaara. "It's been three years Gaara-kun. I know you can't hear me now, but wake up soon. We have a lot to talk about." He didn't think anybody heard it, but he was wrong. Hirai had been walking next to him a little behind his shoulder and not only read his lips, but heard the whole exchange.

She didn't comment on anything, but inner Hirai was livid. (Who the hell does he think he is talking to my... ano Gaara like that. He doesn't look special, why the hell does everyone trust this guy so much. First chance I get I'm gonna test him and show them. I don't like this blond bastard.) she didn't really know why she disliked him so much so quickly. Maybe it was jealousy that he was so close to Gaara, unfortunately even if it was the case, her pride wouldn't let her recognize it. They quickly entered the room and Hirai was made to wait outside with everyone else as only Temari, Naruto and Sakura went in to check on Gaara. This only added to Hirai's bad mood. She was so frustrated at the moment, on the one hand she was so happy that Gaara had returned and this whole ordeal was almost behind them. On the other hand she was just mad and she couldn't really pinpoint the reason why.

Inside Naruto fell into a chair as Sakura looked over Gaara with Temari assisting her. Naruto couldn't believe how exhausted he was. He had felt it for a while now, but he ignored it, but now that his mission was over and he sat in the chair exhaustion washed over him. He tried hard to remain awake and was treading on the line of consciousness as they examined Gaara. He tried to fight it, but after a while he realized he was fighting a loosing battle. Suddenly snapped awake slapping himself. Temari and Sakura were still examining Gaara when their attention turned to Naruto. He had totally spaced out. He considered the situation and thought it best if he left them to do whatever they had to do. He was going to be here in the morning he thought so he could find out the results in the morning. He got up and spoke to Temari. "Temari I think I need to find a room to stay tonight, if that's okay with you. I want to know what's gonna happen with Gaara, but I don't wanna distract you guys." He said. He doubted she would personally show him or anything, but he waited patiently.

Temari looked up at Naruto and told him. "Hai, Naruto that would be the least we could do. Go outside and tell Hirai, she'll show you where you can stay. She should be right outside."

Naruto started walking towards the door when he thought about something. He asked. "Hirai, right. Who is she? I mean what's she look like?" he was standing at the door.

Temari answered off-handedly. "She was with me when we went out to meet you."

Naruto automatically responded. "Alright, arigatou Temari." He stepped outside and closed the door behind him before what Temari said registered. He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he remembered who she was talking about. He also felt that creepy sensation of being stared at and looked around. He jumped back throwing one hand above his head and the other in front of him in a protective gesture as he saw Hirai was standing next to him staring at him. "Hyyaaaa!" he yelled in surprised he quickly tried to hide his reaction by pretending to dust himself off. "You must be Hirai. Ano... Temari said you would show me where I can stay for the night." Naruto said.

Hirai hadn't been fooled by his actions. She kept staring at him and totally ignoring what he said. "How is Gaara? Is something wrong with him? Will he be fine?" She asked craving information.

Naruto unfortunately had no answers for her. "I don't know. He'll be fine though there was nothing fatal wrong with him, you'll have to wait until they're done in there. Gomen, I wish I could tell you more." Naruto said.

Hirai wasn't satisfied she wanted to know what was going on as soon as possible and this blond wasn't helping. She looked at the door next to Naruto wondering what was going on on the other side then looked back at Naruto. "I'll take you as soon as I find out what's going on." Hirai said.

Naruto didn't like that answer, true he was in no rush to get to his room, but still she didn't need to be so serious. He was weighing what to do thinking about how worried she must have been about Gaara. He saw her make up had run from all the crying she must have done and was about to start looking for Neji and Lee when the door opened and Temari stepped out. She spoke to Naruto. "Gomen Naruto, before you go I just wanted to thank you one more time. I thought I was going to be too late and not catch you. I hope you enjoy your quarters and pleasant dreams." Temari finished. She was about to go back into the room when she saw Hirai wasn't moving to show Naruto his room.

Naruto smiled and said. "It's no problem, I'm just glad I could help. Gaara's well being means a lot to me too." He didn't comment on the conversation with Hirai, he knew it was late and didn't really want to make a big deal out of nothing.

When Temari spoke again she directed herself at Hirai. "Why aren't you showing our guest to his quarters?" She asked a little sternness seeping through her voice.

Hirai didn't meet Temari's eyes. She looked down at the ground and said. "I want know what's happening with Gaara-kun." Hirai said, her demeanor one of a child who had been scolded.

Temaris voice and expression softened. She realized this must be hard for everyone. "Gaara's going to be fine, I'll tell you everything as soon as we find out everything. Now please show Naruto his room. The sooner you do so the sooner we can talk. I know it's hard to wait, but please be patient." Temari said. Without waiting for a response she walked back into the room.

Hirai turned to stare at Naruto once again, even though her face didn't show it Naruto sensed that she was angry. He didn't say anything as she briskly told him. "Follow me." Naruto put his hands behind his head casually and did as he was asked. As he followed Hirai they walked down a large corridor Neji and Lee were coming back. Naruto stopped he had wanted to ask Neji a question. Hirai stopped as well when she sensed he wasn't following her. She turned to see his attention was on his two companions from before she didn't say anything as they began to talk.

Lee asked his question first. "So what did they tell you Naruto-kun? No serious burn marks or significant injuries." A grin was on his face expecting nothing less.

Naruto guessed from this question that they had had a quick check-up. He hadn't had anything of the sort, but he knew his body and he felt fine. "Nah, I'll be fine. Just a little rest and I should be back at a hundred percent." Naruto replied.

Lee pumped his fist in the air enthusiastically. "That is magnificent news. We can begin our rivalry again tomorrow. I won't hold back, so I'm hope your ready!" Lee said he made a large circular motion with his right arm and then broke into the good guy pose. He then added. "The spring time of youth is just beginning for us." Behind him Neji's upper face had gone blue. Was he ever going to get used to being embarrassed by Lee he wondered to himself. Hirai looked at the guy and after listening to him for a little while she confidently slotted him into the weird category. Now all she was waiting for was for the name to be mentioned.

Naruto didn't really know how to respond to this so instead he turned to Neji and asked. "So what did you mean earlier when you said something about my life being saved by some sort of protection."

Neji looked at Naruto and almost instantly knew he was serious. "You still haven't noticed yet? Hmmm, you should notice it's missing eventually." Neji said coolly.

This irked Naruto to no end. "Quit trying to act cool and just tell me already." Naruto said loudly.

Neji turned to Naruto and met his eyes his voice quickly cracked back. "No. Find out for yourself you'll appreciate it more that way." Neji said. "We're going to go check on Tenten we'll see you in the morning." Neji continued. He turned away and began walking but stopped a few feet away and said. "By the way Naruto. It's not an act." Lee and Naruto both had a confused look about the last comment. Lee followed his team mate to ask about it. While Naruto just stood there thinking Neji still hasn't changed. Hirai was looking at Neji and thought. 'he is pretty cool, I like him.'

Hirai looked at Naruto and asked a question of her own. "What's that guy with the green outfit's name?"

Naruto looked at her and answered. "Him oh that Lee. Rock Lee he's pretty cool. When he's not being a freak." He looked at her and thought to himself, this girl isn't so creepy. She has some cool eyes.

Hirai nodded and filed the information away for later use. "Follow me." She said this time she wasn't so serious.

As they walked along the corridors of the Kages building Naruto asked Hirai a question. "Your golden eyes, are they a blood limit or are you the only one in your clan with eyes like that?"

Hirai had not expected that question at all and her answer came awkwardly. "H-hai, something like that. I ano, my baby brother has the same colored eyes, but I gomen I dunno." Hirai stumbled. She felt her face burning up with embarrassment and felt totally uncomfortable with the situation. Suddenly a hand rested on her shoulder and she turned to meet Naruto's eyes for the first time. What she saw in them she hadn't expected, but it was almost as if he understood her.

Naruto understood how she felt, he had gone through the same thing through his travels with Jiraiya. When people would ask him about his clan or his family and he had no answer. He had learned to deal with it, but it was never an easy situation to be in and he understood that. He smiled at Hirai and said. "It's okay, I was just going to tell you that they look cool." He took his hand off her shoulders and his smile widened a little bit as his eyes closed momentarily. Hirai had felt chills run down her spine when he took his hand off her shoulder. She turned around and kept leading him to his room. Naruto though still had more questions for this stranger in front of him. "So how long have you known Gaara-kun and Temari?" This question she could and did answer. They continued walking in silence for a while and reached his room fairly quickly. They bid each other farewell and she walked away. As she walked away her initial impression of Naruto had changed. She now thought, 'he's not such a bad guy, but I still want to test him.'

Inside of his room Naruto stared at the hugeness of it, his room was the size of a small house. The first thing he did was go to the restroom. He wanted to see how he looked like in the mirror. He found it quickly enough and as he approached it the first thing he noticed wasn't his condition, but Tsunade's necklace. It was alone, he immediately realized what it was that Neji had been talking about and wanted to kick himself for not having realized it sooner. He had lost Hinata's gift and she had in essence saved his life. He closed his eyed momentarily and thought about it there was nothing he could do about it now. He continued with his inspection of his body and then went to lay down. The fatigue he had felt when in the room with Gaara and the others had left and he now lay there thinking about Hinata. How would he explain it to her? He owed her and he owed her bigtime? He lay there wondering where the light eyed girl with the long hair was and what she was doing. It had been a busy time since he had gotten back with so many things happening. Now that he lay on the bed looking back on the days one of the things that struck him was how little attention he had given Hinata. Laying there on the bed he told himself. "That should change."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/

Out in the forests somewhere Hinata was about to take a seat at camp when her ears began to warm up, at fist only a little, but they got hot enough to make her wonder if she was okay. They had just gotten back to camp and joined Shino. She was about to tell them what had happened, but couldn't help but wonder. 'Why are my ears burning?'

**PREVIEW**

Poor Jiraiya was forgotten in the hot-springs will he stay forgotten.

**RSO'S**

midnight-angel-of-darkness- Yeah, Hinata's badass. No problemo.

crakbaby23- What's moving, and where too? Me neither.

Jeefus- me neither, but I'm excited too. J/K hope you enjoyed this ch.

Dragonman180- you wrong for that, yeah they have a mission, especially Hinata. Leave him there... wait that might not be such a bad idea.

acrazygirlofmanynames- yeah I guess that was obvious. nope he won't. Your mom is cool, naw it's not confusing you just got 22 men on the field trying to move the ball rushing or passing and the other half trying to stop them, then you got the various formations an...I guess it can be a little confusing huh.

causeiambetta- I quit gambling. J/K, I'm glad you liked it. I really couldn't think of a better way to cover their return. I'm not gonna say I planned this part out, but everything came together nicely.

narashikamaru21- yeah damn that girls fine. Umm how are you gonna make sure of that, I hope I don't regret asking that. Yeah the fluff will come, just be patient.

danny- Sannin or not he can't resist the fairer sex anyways he was caught off guard even Hinata conceded that had he been ready she wouldn't have been able to catch him like that. Oh wait till I beat the... get the explanation from Jiraiya it should be a good one. Hmmm I dunno their relationship is still up in the air for me. Don't know how I'll proceed with that. yet.

pokemonfan- I'm glad you've enjoyed reading the story. Yeah, but you can never get tired of hearing praise. (wink, wink) I'll try to hit on all your questions.

1. The comment by the aketsuki was not the same, they had worked hard to get Gaara so if they let him die then so would the Shukaku and all their efforts would have been in vain. I never said they were all immortal, but look at the differences between the two bijuus. Chiyo was able to bind the Shukaku by herself while the Kyubii required the summoning of the death god and deaths of the fourth hokage in order to seal the nine tails. I can't get to into why the ninetails helped Naruto because that would kinda you know spoil my story. Again the reason they weren't able to extract the Shukaku from Gaara was because the seal had been manipulated, that's why they had to release him while they figured out a way to work around that. Also you are correct if they had gotten the shukaku out of Gaara he would have died. Sorry, it's complicated, but the fox did not lie.

2. I won't do it in the same way the manga does it, I started from where I started so that I could branch off into my own thing, while I will use some elements from the cannon I will also add my own ideas into it. I don't know all the details of how I'll make Naruto progress, but I'll tackle those obstacles as I get to them.

3. Obviously when Temari threatened Ino it was a bluff, but Ino didn't call it. It wouldn't do any good if you bluffed someone and then after they didn't call you out on it they admitted they bluffed you. I may touch on it later, but right now it's not in my plans. Sorry, I know I left out some things and maybe I'll go back and edit it to fix it once I finish this arc, but right now my focus is on moving forward and getting this here arc over and done with.

4. Yeah, even in the manga he wanted to peep on Sakura when Yamato told him the story of how Tsunade beat Jiraiya within an inch of his life for doing that. Naruto just got done spending three years with a super perv, some of it was bound to rub off on him, as you've noticed he hasn't done anything of the sort since then and he should (still not sure if he will) return to behaving like a normal human being.

5. Not in this arc, but in the chunnin exam arc I may explore their relationship more. Worrying about someone is a sign of affection, true she may be harsh, but Naruto wasn't her first choice to send on the mission. Now that you mention it I might focus in on their relationship a lil more. I don't want my Tsunade to be one dimensional after all.

lol damn right Naru/Hina 4ever. I hope I answered all your questions, but if you got anymore feel free to ask.


	37. Chapter 37

Hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

I don't own Naruto in any way, shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**BEGINNING TO BUILD DETERMINATION**

Shino had set up a simple camp for them and was polishing his gourd when Hinata and Kiba walked back into the camp. Shino observed them coming into camp and offered his greeting. "Is everything fine?" he asked as he began finishing up with his gourd and began putting it away. They took a seat around the fire Shino had started before responding.

Kiba sat down with Akamaru laying down next to him and said. "We're good. We couldn't find the old man, but he should be back before morning." Kiba said. He started playing with Akamaru's fur rubbing him behind the ears.

Shino began to scrutinize Hinata and he saw she was hiding something and something was on her mind as she reached up and started rubbing her ears. He thought maybe he should leave it alone, but his better judgement wouldn't let him. He thought she would broach the subject herself, but he nudged her anyways. "Your mind seems troubled Hinata. Can we offer any support?" Shino asked. He noticed her start minutely and saw her gathering her thoughts.

Hinata's ears had been burning and she had been rubbing them lightly. It had been a minor distraction, but she had been startled when Shino asked her his question. She tried to organize a good anwer, but gave up and just made a stab at it. She looked at Kiba and apologized. "Gomen, Kiba. I should have told you the truth, but I guess I just wanted to get everything worked out in my mind. I, I did find Jiraiya and I...ano... I accidentally knocked him out." She said. She immediately looked down not wanting to see Kiba's upset face.

What she didn't expect was his enthusiastic response. "Really! Way to go Hinata!" She looked up to see him looking at her with an admiring grin on his face. A smile touched her face when she realized he wasn't upset with her.

That smile was short lived as Shino began to talk. "I'm really disappointed Hinata." Shino said.

Kiba interrupted him standing up for her. "Chill out Shino that old bastard probably deserved it." He said.

Shino shot Kiba a looked and quickly and efficiently responded. "Regardless of if he deserved it or not. He is our guide and duty, to leave him out there unconscious in terrain we are unfamiliar with is unwise." There was an edge in his voice, he let out a long exasperated breath and resumed speaking in a normal voice. Kiba hadn't thought of it that way and now sat in silence. Hinata also sat silently as Shino continued. "It is true this mission is a bit strange, but it was given to us by the Hokage. She is familiar with Jiraiaya and knows his skills well, so how would we be able to face her if he were hurt due to us." Shino turned to Hinata and talked especially to her. "I don't know your reasons for doing what you did and I won't force the issue, but I'll tell you the real reason I'm disappointed. For as far as I can remember you've made an effort to change to get stronger. I know who you admire and my question to you now is. What would our blond comrade have done? What should be done now?" Shino asked. Shino didn't know Hinata's exact relationship with Naruto, but he knew he was someone Hinata respected deeply. He even knew that Hinata's bracelet was because of Naruto and not Neji like she wanted everyone to believe. He never brought it up or told anybody else out of respect for his friend, but he thought this was a good time to push her to take responsibility. He quieted down and waited to see how Hinata would react.

Kiba had been lost by Shino's last comment. Blond comrade, what the hell did Ino have to do with any of this he wondered. He never knew Hinata admired her. He felt out of his element and sat quietly not wanting to say anything and be made like a fool. Instead he sat quietly looking at Hinata acting as if he knew what was going on.

Hinata on the other hand knew exactly what Shino was talking about. She began to feel ashamed for her actions. She had nearly abandoned the mission, her mission especially, the Hokage had trusted her in more ways then the others and she had been the first one to have her determination swayed. She wondered what Naruto would do as she rubbed her bracelet and knew it wouldn't have been what she had done. As she thought about it more she knew Naruto would try to correct his mistake and in thinking about that she knew what she had to do. She stood up and as the Shino and Kiba looked at her she told them. "I'll go fetch him. I know it was my fault for acting the way I did and I have to correct it." She saw Kiba was about to offer his help or at least say something and she kept talking before he could get a word in. "I want to go alone, I think that is what Na..Neji would do." She had almost said Naruto, but had luckily stopped herself. She was about to start playing with her fingers and luckily caught herself. She shouldn't be wasting time she realized.

Kiba asked. "You sure you don't want either of us to come along? I wouldn't mind." He said looking at Hinatas back.

Hinata stopped and thought about it. She knew it would be easier with Kiba accompanying her, but she looked at the situation and once again thinking about what Naruto would do she answered. "No, I will be fine. Arigatou, I'll be back soon." With that Hinata began her journey back to the hot-springs.

Jiraiya had lost track of time as he lay there looking up at the stars. He had a lot of things going through his mind. Things like, will Hinata tell the others? How will I explain it to them? Will Tsunade really kill me if she finds out about this? He had all these questions on his mind and had even entertained the idea of running away and becoming a hermit. After all he was the frog hermit, just didn't always live like one. This would be a perfect opportunity for a change of lifestyles. After all nobody would be able to find him. He lay there thinking all these things with other questions popping into his head like who was that little girl and the humiliation of being beat down like that. Oh nobody was gonna find out about that. Even though Jiraiya was deep in thought he was keenly aware of his surroundings and sensed someone walk into the hot-springs. He felt instantly re-energized at the thought of hot young girls coming for a dip in the hot-spring. He had to find someplace to hide so he wouldn't be noticed as he pe... did research. He tried to get up quickly and stopped as his back cracked. He had lost time of how long he had been laying on the ground and forgotten how much pain his body was in. He lay back down and thought to himself. This situation sucks. He closed his eyes and waited for the reaction from whoever was there when they found him.

What he hadn't expected was a shocked yell of concern for him. "Oh my god, Jiraiya-sama. G-GOMEN, are you okay? What happened to you?" He opened his eyes to see Hinata heading towards him and get down on her knees to make sure he was still alive. His eyes shot open as she grabbed his wrist and placed freezing cold fingertips on his neck.

He looked up at Hinata who had started in surprise to his quick reaction and asked. "Why are your fingers so cold?" He said pulling away from her fingers.

Hinata pulled her hands back at this comment, she hadn't noticed at all until he said that. "G-gomen, Jiraiya-san, I-I washed my hands before running out here to find you." She replied. She had only actually ran when she saw him lying there. She had jogged before that not expecting to find him in this condition. She turned saw his tenkoutsous were back to normal and thought this strange. She remembered hitting him full force so they should have still been clogged. She thought maybe she was wrong and had hit him softer than expected. However that wouldn't explain his dislocated shoulder or the missing molar she had seen when he spoke. It was towards the back so it wouldn't be seen normally, but Hinata had sharp eyes and thought the whole thing was a little curious. She asked Jiraiya. "What happened to you?" She asked worriedly.

Jiraiya had thought about how he would answer this question, but now that it was posed he took bits and pieces of his stories. "I slammed into the stone you punched me into and lay here unable to recover for a while. Some thugs came and assaulted me while I lay here. Luckily I had nothing of value, but they still worked me over. I'm fine now, but for a while I thought I would die here." He was really working the guilt trip and saw it was working. In his mind he felt a sense of relief as she swallowed the story hook line and sinker.

Hinata was feeling so ashamed of herself, Jiraiya didn't know Shino had already laid a guilt trip on her so he didn't know his story wasn't the only one affecting her. She was looking down into her lap her hands curled into fists and began apologizing. "G-gomen, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault I should have reacted better." Now that she said that she remembered the reason she did what she did re-surfaced and some of her shame left her. She looked at Jiraiaya and asked. "Why were you out here though. It looked like you wanted to look at the girls in the hot-spring." She looked at him accusingly almost daring him to justify himself. She didn't know she was dealing with a pro.

Jiraiya's mouth opened as if he had been insulted. "Is that really what you thought Hinata?" She didn't say anything so Jiraiya kept going, he pretended to loose hope and began to explain himself. "I guess that's what it might have looked like to you. So I'll come clean. I'm an author and I was just trying to gather information for my book." Peeping is just a bonus. He didn't say that though. He saw she wasn't buying it yet. "I write my books for people who are looking for love. I mean sometimes don't you feel like that? Completely clueless about what someone you care about wants. I came to the springs to listen to what girls talk about when they're alone. Things that they would never talk about to their counterparts." He saw her look away a little and knew he had an entrance. "I'm sure there are things you tell your female companions that you would never share with a guy. I just want to help people in search of love. Am I so wrong for that Hinata?" Jiraiya asked. His voice now totally sympathetic.

Hinata didn't know what to think. He looked totally truthful in what he said. She didn't know why she felt a little hesitant to believe him, she could tell he wasn't lying she picked that up very quickly. With Jiraiya though even though everything checked out she couldn't help but have a little lack of faith. She turned her Byakugan on and asked him. "What is the name of your book?" She was familiar with a lot of literature and maybe would know the book he was talking about. After all she read those kinds of books once in a while herself.

Jiraiya answered almost immediately with no hesitation. "Icha Icha Paradise. I have different volumes out already and it is a very popular book." He said with a hint of pride in himself.

Hinata had never heard of the book, but she saw he was telling the truth. "Gomen, I've never heard of it." She said now feeling worse than ever. She had totally jumped the gun and hurt him without cause. She had to do her best to make it up to him.

Jiraiya saw he had been successful in getting out of this mess. All thoughts of becoming a fugitive disappeared. He smiled as he spoke to her. "It's no big deal. All of my books are meant for guys, it's little wonder you haven't heard of them." He tried to lift his arm to give her thumbs up, but pain shot up his arm and he winced. He had not noticed it was dislocated yet. He had just lay there the whole time without moving. Hinata saw this and quickly went to help him.

She took out a Kunnai and saw Jiraiya's look of fear. She told him. "Don't worry Jiraiya this shouldn't hurt to much. I just want you to bite down on this when you feel any pain." She said as she placed the Kunnai in Jiraiya's mouth with one hand and grasped his hurt arm with the other hand. She felt his shoulder to see what she needed to do. It didn't take long, she asked him. "Ready?" Jiraiya didn't respond, but gave a tiny nod of his head. He didn't know if he was ready. Hinata suddenly slammed an open palm on the outer part of his deltoid the other hand holding it firmly directing it to re-locate it. She felt Jiraiya tense with pain, but it was over before he knew it.

Jiraiya reached over and began rubbing his shoulder. Hinata had let go of his arm as he began to test his mobility with it. He looked at Hinata and said. "You're pretty good Hinata." Jiraiya then slowly got up. His body feeling totally sore, but at least there wasn't any real damage. He rolled his tongue in his mouth and noticed he was missing a tooth. That explained his sore jaw, or at least partially explained that soreness. He still had a lot of questions in his mind, but he let them go. He wasn't getting answers and they still had a long way to go. "We should head back to camp." He said. He began to walk with a very slight limp.

As they began their journey back to camp Hinata asked a question not knowing if she would get an answer. It was probably a question they should have asked at the outset of the mission, but as it was it had not really crossed their minds. Until now and Hinata asked it. "Jiraiya-san what exactly is our mission? I know we were assigned to assist you and that is our mission, but that isn't all is it?" She looked up wondering if he would inform her without her having to ask. She only saw him looking back at her knowingly. She knew she had to ask him now. "What is your mission?" She stopped walking as he had stopped as well. She looked back at him as he looked solemn.

He knew this question would have to be answered. He had actually been surprised this question hadn't been asked before. He had given them the destination, but none of them really clicked to it. Since it was just him and Hinata he thought he could trust her. "I'll tell you what you can tell the others first. This is and information retrieval mission. There is an organization comprised of dangerous criminals. They are each extremely powerful and gathered together to form this organization. We have gleaned information about their intent and need to prevent them from accomplishing their goal." He saw she was being attentive and liked that. He didn't get to specific, but laid out the general premise. "We know about a few of their targets, but have no information on everyone they are after or when they intend to begin their operations and how. For this reason I am heading to our destination to meet with someone who shares our same goal in stopping them. It should not be difficult, I hope. However there's always the chance of it becoming extremely difficult." Jiraiya said. She looked at him with an intent gaze. He had told her a lot without telling her anything.

Hinata realized this and knew he wasn't going to get into specifics. She was beginning to realize that this person was indeed very cunning. Her own mission seemed to become exponentially harder with this realization. However she needed to get some information about what was happening. "What makes this mission different? Criminal organizations exist everywhere. What are we going to do specifically?" Hinata asked.

This was something Jiraiya didn't want to answer, but saw no reason to lie. Hinata seemed to be extremely observant. "I'm sure you know of a boy named Sasuke Uchiha. Are you familiar with what happened to his clan?" Hinata nodded her head she had heard of this story. How Sasuke was the only survivor and his brother was the one who had destroyed the clan. "The one who destroyed the Uchiha is a part of this organization and if my information is correct which I believe it is he is not the most dangerous member of this organization." Hinata's eyes widened a little at this information she had no idea what had happened to Itachi after he left the village. "I've told each of you to think of something you wish to improve upon, tomorrow we begin to train. If the person we seek has been captured or worse than I will need all of your help to succeed. However at your current levels... I need you all to get better. Do you get what I'm saying Hinata?" Hinata gave a small nod trying to process the information. All the implications hadn't hit her yet. Jiraiya did her the favor of driving th point home. "It may not be a big deal or it could turn out to be a life or death situation and I need you three to be as prepared as you can be. I asked each of you individually, because of a part of becoming better is also being able to identify your flaws. I already know what you need to work on, but tomorrow we'll find out if you see it and we'll begin training. We may not have much time so each day we need to make progress." Jiraiya finished this and began walking away. Hinata stood there for a while, considering the source of information Hinata felt a convulsion of feeling inside of her. She began to follow him slowly with a multitude of thoughts running through her mind.

**PREVIEW**

The day after, or is it.

**RSO'S**

narashikamaru21- Yeah, it is alot of chapters and dammit I can't see any end in sight yet. You mean you aren't sweating to update your story for our pleasure. Shame sticks on you. J/K. We are getting impatient.

causiambetta- lol yeah I thought it was a nice touch. I dunno, we gotta see how much info. the public gets before Naruto is a hero there. The difference should be there though.

dragonman180- not yet, sorry.

danny- Yeah, damn kids. j/k I don't think the situation will get better yet. P.S. Why didn't you tell me sooner. You must want to die...j/k.

shadowneji- of course, Neji is supposed to be cool. glad you like it.

pokemonfan- while it's true Kyubi gives that impression he's never come out and really said it. Not that I can remember. Yeah it's my idea though. Don't worry about being to harsh, your questions were rather refreshing. Yeah, I wish every one would just realize I'm... I mean Naruto is a perv. Thanx for the compliment it felt great reading that.

acrazygirlofmanynames- yeah, I'm glad your happy.


	38. Chapter 38

Okay, everybody here's the newest chapter, I hope everybody enjoys. I know I haven't developed all the relations yet, but I gotta start somewhere right. Hope everybody enjoys.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**NARUTO'S DREAM**

Hinata and Jiraiya returned to camp uneventfully and Hinata went to her sleeping bag quietly after greeting Shino and Kiba. She had a lot of information to digest and Jiraiya had asked her not to tell her team mates unless they asked. She didn't know how she would explain anything yet. Jiraiya sat down with them and made some small talk before turning in for the night. Shino, observant as ever had noticed Hinata's worried expression as she greeted them and went to turn in for the night. After they had talked for a little while Shino wanted to ask Hinata what bothered her, but she seemed to be asleep so he decided to wait until morning to talk with her.

Temari had been joined by Hirai in Gaara's room. Sakura had left to go to her quarters and get some rest. Sakura had found that Gaara had some blockages keeping him in a comatose state. She had successfully removed them and Gaara would recover soon. She said he would likely keep sleeping and awaken once his body fully recovered all it's functions. She didn't know the timetable for his awakening, because she didn't know how long he had been in that condition, but she ventured a guess that he should be awake before noon the next day. These had been great news to Temari and she had thanked Sakura from the bottom of her heart. Sakura felt awkward, but accepted the thanks. She then requested a place where she could get some rest as the operation she had performed to dissolve the blockages had taken a lot out of her. Temari had called an assistant who showed Sakura to her room. Temari found Hirai waiting outside the door as she bid Sakura a good night. Temari had asked Hirai to join her inside where she recounted all the events that had unfolded and told Hirai the good news of Gaara's eminent recovery. Finishing with. "Gaara should return to us sometime tomorrow and we should be able to move forward after this." Temari then closed her eyes with a soft smile on her face and bowed her head down. Relief finally washing over her.

Hirai was all smiles when she asked Temari. "So who's that girl. You must trust her a lot having let her look at Gaara before our medical team." Hirai asked, she was really hungry for information about these people from Konoha who had helped them.

Temari looked a Hirai and responded with a hint of admiration in her voice. "I already told you her name so I guess I'll just focus on the second part of your answer. We met a few years ago and she's someone I talk to whenever I go to Konoha. She's really close to someone Gaara respects and to be honest curiosity about that person is the reason I first approached her. However as we talked more we began to respect each other. True we're friend's, but her skills as a medical ninja are simply amazing. Not just for someone her age. If I were to go down the list I would rank her teacher at number one then Chiyo-sama maybe there is one or two others I can't think of right now that exceed her skill, but she's really up there." She took a long pause and continued as she saw the question beginning to form on Hirai's lips. "Who's her teacher? Is that what you want to ask?" Temari said. Hirai nodded and thought 'Temari's really good, how did she know what I wanted to ask.' Temari answered that question quickly. "The Kage of Konoha is her teacher. I know you don't know much about Konoha, but someday soon you'll learn to appreciate Sakura's skills." Temari looked at Hirai and this time couldn't decipher the question she wanted to ask so she came out and asked her. "So what else is on your mind? We might have a lot of time before Gaara wakes up."

Hirai had been wanting to ask this for a while and after her escort mission she was still curious. "Ano.. what is the story on that Naruto guy?" Hirai asked. She sat quietly not knowing how Temari would respond.

Temari smiled at this question she thought she understood why her young pupil asked the question. She gazed at her pupil and asked. "Why do you ask?" Temari said. She saw Hirai shift a little bit anxiously and said what she thought when Hirai didn't respond quickly. "Let me guess, you're curious how such and ordinary looking guy earned our respect. Is that it?" Temari asked thinking she had hit the nail on the head.

Hirai confirmed Temari's believe quickly by responding almost instantly. She became unusually animated as she began to talk. "Hai, I mean he doesn't look special. I don't get why Gaara shows him such respect. I don't think he looks strong, yet everyone acts like he's so powerful. I thought maybe it was because he was smart, but that can't be it." Hirai looked at Temari with a curious disbelieving expression. "It isn't is it? He's not some kind of savant is he?" Hirai asked. The thought had only recently crossed her mind.

Temari almost laughed at Hirai's idea and was only able to keep from laughing out loud. "Naruto a savant! Gomen Hirai, but that's not it. Naruto may be one of the biggest baka's I've ever met! Not to disrespect him, he's got a brain and everything. It's just that in some area's he's so clueless you wonder how he's still alive." Temari blurted out and recovered somewhat. She found her self looking back at her own experiences with Naruto. Remembering when they met him the very first time and discounting him on sight as a scrub. She remembered how quickly he seemed to improve, almost at a demon's pace. As she reminisced she began to convey some of her thoughts on Naruto to Hirai. "When we first met him he was less than an average shinobi. Whatever it is that makes him special is not something tangible." She looked at her kohai who was all ears and hanging on her every word and decided to shift tactics a little bit. "I can't speak for Gaara and the others, they have their reasons for respecting him. I'll tell you what impressed me about him. In a compressed amount of time, a time of need he stepped up and developed in an uncanny way. Like I said when I first met him he was less than an average shinobi. I wasn't in Konoha for too long on that visit, but before I left he managed a summon that I still can't match... maybe a summoning I can never match." Temari looked very thoughtful after this remembering the events that took place after that when Sasuke left their village and trying to fathom the scope of the Konoha villages power. Naruto was strong, really strong and Temari found herself often wondering how he failed in a mission to retrieve his best friend. Temari had also heard of tales of how Tsunade had easily put him in his place, of course Tsunade was the one who told her most of these stories so she didn't know how accurate they really were, but through it all a prevailing thought ran. Had it not been for Naruto's intervention the two villages would have been at war and Temari was hard pressed to believe their small village would have had any chance of victory. Temari had fallen silent as her mind raced through all these thoughts.

Hirai however didn't know what Temari did and Temari's words had only served to raise her curiosity. "So you're saying he's really strong? You think he's stronger than Gaara?" Hirai asked expecting only one answer she was totally shocked and startled when it was not what she received.

Temari looked at her solemnly and said. "I don't know. Gaara and Naruto only fought once and Naruto won that day. However it's been over three years since then and Naruto has been away dedicating himself to training with one of the legendary sannin. Gaara has grown much stronger during that time, but I don't know about Naruto." A wicked smile crossed Temaris face as she said the next words. "It would be really exciting to see those two have a rematch. That's for sure." Temari had not thought about what she had said, but now that the words were out of her mouth she realized they were very true. It would be exciting to see those two go at it.

Hirai looked at her sempai in disbelief. "Noway! That guy couldn't be stronger than Gaara!" Hirai cried out. With those words Temari had really boosted Hirai's desire to fight Naruto. Hirai usually calm and collected was unable to hide her intentions this time.

Temari was able to read Hirai like a book. She was surprised, because Hirai was very adept at hiding her intentions and emotions, but seeing Hirai react in this manner Temari couldn't help but laugh. She caught herself quickly though and quickly said in a very Temari way. "You want to challenge him then! I wanna see that go down! I'll tell you this though and I have a reason for telling you this. Do not show him you're abilities as he won't go all out on you either, trust me on this Hirai you don't want him to know too much about you." Temari said.

Hirai immediately asked. "Why is that sempai?"Hirai thought back to her own conversation with Naruto and wondered if she had already messed that up. Hopefully it would be inconsequential.

Temari shot her kohai a cold stare and said. "Trust me on this. I have a hunch, I'll be there to make sure you don't..." Temari looked at Hirai and said in a teasing voice. "and for your safety." Temari let out a laugh as she saw Hirai's face turn beet red with anger. Temari quickly apologized for her mean comment in her own way. "I know I can be harsh at times, but I do have a lot of confidence in you." Temari said. Saying this her mind inexplicably returned to her own chunnin exams and the fight between Gaara and Lee. At the time she didn't understand what Gai had meant when he said what he said after stepping in to help Lee, but now she looked at her own pupil and understood Gai's words. She too had found a someone who she deeply cared for. At that moment she saw Hirai let out a long yawn. Temari leaned over and put an arm around her and pulled her close. "I'll wake you as soon as Gaara wakes up." Temari said.

Hirai felt sleep slowly creeping upon her, but didn't know if it was okay to sleep as Temari said and voiced this. "Sempai, are you sure?" Temari responded not with words, but by patting her hands on her lap. Hirai smiled warmly as she lay her head in Temari's lap. Sleep came to her almost instantly, but before she floated away to sleep she thanked Temari in a sleepy murmur. "Arigatou, Temari-san. You're the best." A tear rolled down Temari's cheek, a soft smile on her face. She put her hand on her kohai's shoulder and reflected on how much life had changed in the village of sand. She knew if things were the way they were before she would not be Hirai's teacher and friend, she might not even know Hirai at all.

She sat there fighting off sleep herself as she waited for Gaara to awaken. It was a long time she stayed awake and right before she fell asleep she murmured. "Please wake up soon Gaara. We really need you." It would be a while yet before Gaara would wake, but that is the scene he would wake up too.

Meanwhile Naruto was in his room tossing and turning. He was no longer awake. He was in the desert and it was dusk. Naruto was caught in a sandstorm. Completely lost. In his mind Naruto did not know it was a dream it felt too real. He felt the grains of sand slicing against his skin and the wind beating him down. The wind was insanely powerful as he had to use his chakra on his feet not to be blown away. Naruto wanted to yell at the storm, but knew that would do no good. He decided to conserve his energy and dropped down to his knees and leaned forward putting his weight on his elbows and tucking his head into his chest shielding his eyes with his forearms in front of him. He closed his eyes and concentrated. How had he gotten here? He tried to comb his mind to remember, but came up empty. He simply couldn't remember. He was still scrunching up his face in deep thought when suddenly the wind dropped. He could still hear it blowing around him, but it was no longer berating him. He waited a few seconds to make sure it wasn't his imagination playing tricks on him and when he was sure the wind had stopped blowing for certain he dared to lift his gaze. The first thing he noticed was that night had fallen already he no longer had a shadow and he was cloaked in darkness. As he looked up he realized the error of his judgment and realized why he could still hear the wind. Sitting about fifty yards in front of him was the Kyubi. The demon fox was unfaded by the sandstorm and sat there looking calmly down at Naruto. Naruto got up and dusted himself off somewhat. He looked up at the fox stunned by his enormity blocking the wind and sand like that and feeling nothing. Naruto was about to say something, but the fox beat him to it. **"Two and a half days boy." **The fox then looked at Naruto meeting his gaze and holding it. Naruto had not stared at the fox's eyes like this ever and for the first time ever he felt speechless. Naruto had always assumed that the Kyubi's eyes were a solid red, but when he looked at them he saw they maintained the red shade, but the corneas seemed so intense they seemed to move. Almost as if there were really explosions going on behind the fox's eyes. The thing that weirded Naruto out the most though was the steadiness of Kyubi's pupils. Gazing at him with infinite calmness. Naruto broke off his gaze not being able to take it anymore. As soon as he did the fox stood up. Naruto was suddenly blown away by the wind that now ran through the fox's legs. Naruto was lifted off his feet and blown back a great distance. He fell to the ground as the wind suddenly stopped. Naruto saw the fox now a great distance away from him and knew the wind had finally died down on it's own. Naruto got up and dusted himself off once again.

He looked around him as his frustration grew. He had landed a few feet from a deep cliff. He couldn't take it anymore he took a deep breath and yelled with all his might. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" He didn't expect any answer he just did it do calm himself down somewhat. He looked behind him and saw the glow of the red chakra which belonged to the fox. Naruto could not tell if the fox was coming or going, but at the moment he really didn't care. He sat down and looked at the chasm that was in front of him. There was still some light and he could see pretty clearly. He looked at the strange formations at the bottom of the chasm and was captivated by the beauty created by the layers of sediment. As he stared at the chasm this feeling of being watched crept over him. He ignored it thinking it may have been the fox. He kept scanning the chasm until he finally found the opposite wall upon which rose another steep cliff face. Naruto's eyes widened as he alighted on the surface of the other cliff. There was somebody standing on it. From such a great distance Naruto could not make out any details. All he could tell was that they were wearing robes because they were blowing in the wind. He could not see the person, but he could feel their gaze upon him and suddenly knew it had not been the fox that had been watching him after all. Naruto squinted his eyes and strained them as much as he could to get a better look at whoever was on the other side of the chasm when suddenly beside the small silhouette there arose another silhouette this one grew much bigger in size and Naruto's eyes widened as it took form. He instantly recognized the form and was shocked thinking the fox was on the other side with that person. He quickly jumped to his feet and spun around to get a running start. However standing a little to his side and behind him now sat the Kyubi. Once again calm and unnerving. The shock of the fox's appearance startled Naruto incredibly and he jumped back a few feet. However in his impulsiveness he had forgotten he was on the edge of a cliff and he lost his footing on the ledge. He tried to lean forward to regain his balance, but to no avail as he fell off the cliff. Naruto let out a yell of frustration, this was no way to die. He looked up as he fell and saw the fox leaning over the cliff looking at him as if it was no big deal. Naruto's mind raced back to what the fox said, was it really going to let him die this way for it's freedom?

As the question formed in Naruto's mind the fox suddenly lost his patience with the boys stupidity. He let out an ear splitting roar of a yell that could be heard from miles around. "**WAKE UP YOU DAMN FOOL!" **

Naruto shot up in his bed sweat covering his body and his hair plastered to his forehead breathing hard. It had all been just a dream Naruto thought to himself. That was the first thing he told himself, but it had felt like much more than just a dream, who had been on the other side of the cliff and what the hell had the Kyubi been doing in his dream? Naruto really had no idea what to think had he been the one who just dram the whole thing and was making it more than it really was or was there really something going on. Naruto didn't know, but he would spend a long time wondering these things and would not get any sleep until after dawn.

In another part of the world another person had also awoken in a cold sweat wondering who that person was that had been standing across a deep chasm and who that beast was that had unleashed that terrifying roar that had told this person to wake up and called them a fool. This person would also loose sleep that night.

**PREVIEW**

First day of training for team eight.

**RSO'S**

dragonman180- Man I don't know about how Hinata will react when she finds out about it, and she will, but man that's gonna be interesting.

danny- Yeah he deserved it, but he played on Hinata's naivity. Hmm, I don't know if I could do that to Jiraiya I need him to survive for now maybe the second beating will come much further down the line. Yeah, I'm glad your there to risk your life by correcting me, surprised nobody else said anything.

causeiambetta- thanx, I try not to forget about team 8. I'm hoping so team eight's mission will be a building block for future developments, so it's imperative that they succeed. No problem.

crazygirlofmanynames- Yeah, dirty bastard. J/K, thanx for the compliment.

reikage-sama-lord-spirit- soon.

warprince- thanx.

narashikamaru- hmmm, Oh I know. J/K I can't tell you yet. Yeah if you keep taking to long I'm gonna start waiting for you to update before I do as extra motivation. That way when people got mad at me for not updating quickly enough I can blame it on you. Muahhahahahahaha, oh the ingenuity. Gotta love it.

jeefus- Yeah that's gonna be a shocker for them. lol sorry, I can only write so much for free. lol. Well, Naruto beat him before the time-skip, so I haven't decided what to do with that yet. Yeah Hirai will have an encounter of the Naruto kind in the near future. Lol. Thanx, I hope you liked this ch. as well.

dunpar- you gotta be a speed reader. You just started reading and your already on ch 37 wow. I'm not pushing myself too much, people might actually be upset if they knew how far I had thought the story already, I'll try not to burn myself out though. Especially with football season here, I won't be updating as often. Thanx, for the comments. The two girls are just to add mystery and suspense for things to come.

warprince- thanx x2.

shadowneji- Yeah, huh. Hope you liked this chapter.


	39. Chapter 39

How's everyone doing. I know it's been a while since last post. It wasn't my intention to take so long and I'll try to put chapters up at a decent pace again. Anywho I know alot of people want me to get to the romantic part of the story and I'll try to comply. Sorry, I never knew how long it would take me to develop all the other aspects. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and don't forget to review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**TEAM 8 BEGINS TRAINING**

Hinata's eyes fluttered open as she felt Shino shaking her softly to wake her up. Hinata got up slowly blinking her eyes several times and letting out a soft yawn as she groggily asked. "Is it time to go yet?" She had lay awake for a long time before falling asleep, but she felt as if she had slept for a much longer time. She was a little surprised to see it was still dark. She reached up to wipe her eyes.

Shino lowered his gaze and spoke to her in a soft voice. "I don't think we're leaving yet. Jiraiya is gathering wood to cook our breakfast so I think it'll be a while. I wanted to inquire about something before we began the day. I apologize for waking you up so early." Shino said.

Hinata looked up at him and said. "It's no problem, Shino. What's do you want to talk about?" She was just realizing how early it was, the sun was just barely starting to come up.

Shino wasted no time in getting to the point. "You seemed troubled last night when you returned. We're a team and I would like to know if something was bothering you." Shino said.

Hinata thought about how to answer this without lying and said. "Jiraiya said we would start training today and that our mission may call for us to be more prepared. Gomen, I didn't mean to worry you. I was just a little nervous about what today would bring." Hinata said. She looked down at the ground not knowing what Shino would say.

Shino saw she wasn't being completely forward, but he wasn't going to press the issue. He had faith in Hinata and said so. "You shouldn't worry about that which is out of our control. I'm sure you can handle whatever is in our path and also remind you of something. We all have a bond and if ever you have something on your mind, it does not inconvenience me and I assume Kiba to listen to your concerns." He looked at Hinata for a moment and then rose and went back to prepare himself for the day. Hinata lay there with a few thoughts running through her mind. She would get up shortly and prepare for the day as well.

A while later Jiraiya had finished preparing the meal and had everybody gather to eat breakfast. Once everyone finished eating an uneventful meal Jiraiya looked around and began speaking. "Today will be different than yesterday. Our destination is much shorter than it was yesterday, but the reason for this is that I want us to commence training." He waited to see if there was any protests, but saw they were all interested in what he had to say so he continued. "Yesterday I asked each of you to think of an area you would like to improve upon so we will start there. Shino I didn't ask you, because to be honest you have your own training to do in getting used to using your chakra. I'd like to talk to each of you individually. This morning we will start and get an idea of what best to do and train lightly, this afternoon we will train some more. I'll give you some time to think over everything and get ready for our journey and then I'll start with Kiba." He was about to continue when Kiba interrupted him.

Kiba didn't expect to be the first one picked, he voiced this with a little displeasure. "Why me! I thought you would start with Shino, you talked to him first." Kiba said.

Jiraiya wasn't too upset with this, he had a good answer prepared. "I chose you first, because you travel a little bit different than us. Also once we finish I can leave it up to you how long you want to train before making your way to our first meeting point. If you wanna go last it really makes no difference." He paused a moment and looked at Kiba with a questioning look on his face. "Do you wanna go last?" he asked.

Kiba thought about it and thought a little extra training time wouldn't be so bad. He shook his head and replied. "Naw, I see your point. I'm ready whenever you are."

Jiraiya smiled at this. "Alright, get your stuff ready and then come find me. Hinata and Shino you two can take your time getting ready." with that they began putting up everything and beginning to prepare. Jiraiaya left right after he finished wiping down the dishes and went to a clearing to wait for Kiba and Akamaru.

Kiba was preparing his things as thoughts went through his mind. He had thought a lot about what Jiraiya had asked them. He tried to analyze himself from a different perspective and at first was unable to do it. However after a while he took into account Akamaru's fighting style and thought about that as well, he realized he was at a disadvantage when in animal form and this led him to the conclusion that he wanted to work on self defense. Once he had that epiphany he needed to break down what he needed to work on specifically. Unfortunately he didn't know where to go with that he had thought about it extensively, but all that thinking just confused him. He thought about how people said the best defense was a great offense and thought he needed to work on attacks, but then those attacks often left a weak spot open. As he finished preparing he decided to just go with the flow. Even though he didn't just want to have Jiraiya boss him around he had gotten tired of thinking so much. He figured it would be best to tell Jiraiya what he thought and then go from there. He finished his little bit of packing and turned to Akamaru. "C'mon Akamaru, it's time to find the old man and see what he's good for." Akamaru let out an enthusiastic bark and bounded behind Kiba.

Not long after that Kiba and Akamaru came to a small clearing after following Jiraiya's scent. Jiraiya was sitting serenely waiting for him. When Kiba and Akamaru came into the clearing Jiraiya motioned for them to come to him. They did so as he got up. They came upon him and he looked at them for a little while. The corners of his mouth twitching upward as he asked. "So what do you think. What do you wanna work on." He waited patiently for Kiba's answer.

Kiba put his hand on Akamaru's neck as he answered. "We want to work on our defense." He wasn't really good with words or knew what else to say so he left it at that and waited to see Jiraiya's reaction.

Jiraiya smiled widely at this. "I can help you with that. I analyzed your style and have a jutsu that could really benefit you. Of course I don't expect you to master it overnight or anything, but it should come in handy. I call it the needle guardian. Of course you'll have to modify it for Akamaru, but you should be able to figure it out." He saw Kiba was becoming lost and backtracked a little so as not to loose him. "Okay I guess the best thing would be to show you and then teach you." Jiraiya saw explaining was almost futile with Kiba just like it was with Naruto. He took a deep breath and began forming his seals. His hair suddenly hardened and began to elongate. He didn't cover himself completely though he only had it come down halfway down his back. He looked at Kiba and saw he didn't know what was going on. Kiba turned around and said. "So what do you think?"

Kiba didn't see what the point was of growing ones hair longer so he said so. "I don't see the point of making your hair longer. What's the big deal here?" Kiba asked not seeing the significance of this.

Jiraiaya didn't think Kiba could match Naruto's stupidity, but right now he was giving him a run for his money. "Baka! You don't see! Throw a knife at my hair." Almost immediately after he said that he heard the kunnai clang off his hair. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! You didn't even wait for me to get set." Jiraiaya yelled. He couldn't believe how easily Kiba threw the kunnai at him. Here he was thinking they were becoming friends so much for that idea.

Kiba now saw that the hair wasn't just a fashion statement. He didn't know why Jiraiaya was so mad though, he just did as he was asked. "I just did what you asked of me. If I had waited how could I be sure your jutsu would work?" Kiba said. He had just thought of the last part, but he threw it in there because it sounded good.

Jiraiya was surprised at Kiba's cleverness. He had not expected it, now that he knew it was there he would be more cautious of Kiba. "Whatever I know you had it in the back of your mind that you hoped it wouldn't work." Jiraiya saw no point in arguing this point so he raised his hand to stop Kiba before he could start arguing. "Don't argue, let's just move on with your training." Jiraiya did just that as he began showing Kiba the seals to perform the needle guardian. They spent about fifteen minutes on it until finally Jiraiya saw Kiba made his hair stiffen. It wasn't a successful operation however Jiraiya saw he grasped the concept and concluded the lesson. "Now that you know the concepts it's on you to refine it and adapt it to your necessity. Of course depending on the amount of chakra you put into it, it should be more effective, but you don't want to wear yourself out either." Jiraiaya approached Kiba taking out his map and they arranged their next meeting point. Kiba paid close attention.

When they finished Kiba asked. "Will you be late. I mean how long do you expect to take with Shino and Hinata?" He was once again scratching the back of Akamaru's neck.

Jiraiya looked at Kiba and responded as honestly as he could. "I'm not sure, but you need to wait for us once you get there. I don't expect I'll be too long though. We'll see what happens though." Jiraiya then turned around and headed back to meet with Hinata and Shino. Kiba stood there with a smile on his face. The jutsu he just learned was pretty badass. He was looking forward to getting to the next spot early so he could start training.

Back at the camp Hinata and Shino patiently waited for Jiraiaya's return. Hinata was sitting on a log with her legs stretched out and doodling in the ground with them leisurely. Shino was leaning against a tree with his gourd slung over his shoulder to the side and his leg propped against the tree. He looked at Hinata and asked. "The training you'll do with Jiraiya, what do you think it will focus on." He asked this off-handedly, but he was actually rather interested. He knew Kiba would focus on his defense, that was his major weakness. However Shino had known Hinata for a long time and he knew she had a vast untapped potential. No major weakness like Kiba, but areas where she could improve and excel, that was something else. He paid close attention to Jiraiya as usual. Shino had learned that Jiraiya gave out a ton of information, but you would miss it all if you didn't listen closely. Jiraiya had said he talked to them earlier and even though he hadn't talked to Shino he knew what was expected of him from his talk and he wanted to see if Hinata had picked up on this.

Hinata hadn't really expected the question. She still didn't have that much confidence in herself and thought she needed to work on everything, except close range fighting. That was the one area she had began to build confidence in. She answered honestly though. "I don't know. I feel there's a lot of things I would like to work on and I hope Jiraiaya has something in mind already. I, I guess what I mean is I wouldn't mind focusing on anything." Hinata really had no idea what she wanted to do. She just knew she wanted to get better at something. Maybe work on her range. Now that she began to think about it she wondered what it was Shino would work on. She hesitated a moment before asking. "What about your training? What do you think you'll focus on, Shino-kun." Hinata asked.

Shino was always taken by surprise by Hinata's manners. He knew to expect it, but for some reason it always surprised him. He answered promptly enough though. "I'm certain he wants my focus to be on basics. I rely on my insects for the most part to perform my moves and getting the basics down should be very advantageous for me." Shino knew this to be true. They didn't have to wait long to confirm this. Only seconds after Shino responded Jiraiya came back.

Jiraiya came back to find to very attentive teenagers. This totally shocked him as the last few years attentive was the last thing he usually encountered and had to work really hard to get the attention of his companion. He thought he might have been imagining the situation so he pinched his hand, but it was real. He smiled inwardly and approached Shino and Hinata. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I guess we should get straight to it." He looked at Shino and spoke to him first. "I assume you know your training will consist of mastering the basics?" Hinata started a little bit. It appeared Shino had hit it right on the head and she saw he was not surprised at all as he nodded his head. Jiraiya then said. "You can take some time and begin training while I work with Hinata. We'll get you before we leave. I don't think it'll be too long." He then turned his attention to Hinata and began speaking to her. "If you could follow me Hinata. We got a lot of ground to cover." Hinata nodded her head and began walking towards him. Jiraiya spoke once again to Shino as Hinata approached him. "I'm not gonna kidnap Hinata you know. You don't have to have your insects follow us." He said in a loud voice. Shino had expected Jiraiaya to notice, but he thought it wouldn't hurt to try. He called his insects back to him. He turned around and began thinking about how he would proceed.

Jiraiya turned and began walking with Hinata following behind closely. Hinata looked from side to side and finally asked. "J-Jiraiya-sama w-what are we going to do... exactly?" She asked a little nervously.

Jiraiya shot a quick glance back at her and answered her question with one of his own. "What do you think we should do." He asked he kept walking as he waited for her answer.

Hinata had been thinking about this for a while already so she did not hesitate much to respond. "I would like to improve on everything, so I g-guess I am open for suggestions. I... I trust your judgement so whatever you want me to work on I don't think I would be against it." She said she was looking down at the ground in front of her feet as she finished talking.

A grin grew on Jiraiya's face. He would have worked on whatever aspect she chose, much the same way as with Kiba. Of course Kiba identified a good are to work on. He was sure Hinata would have been able to do the same, but her giving him the kind of liberty she just gave him opened up a lot of possibilities. Possibilities he was not about to let go by. "Okay, that's great to hear. Let me ask you something, do you know your elemental affinities?" Jiraiya asked.

Hinata thought about this a moment. She had learned that since she had a blood limit she had multiple affinities. She had never really been educated much on these things though. However she did know the answer to this question. "Hai, they're umm, wind and lightning... I think ." She said a little uncertainly.

Jiraiya nodded his head. "That is correct. While those two are what allow your blood limit to work it isn't out of the question you have a slight affinity to another element. That's something we're going to find out." He looked up at the sky and then thought "That's not the only purpose of our exercise however. Do you know what it is that makes the Uchiha clan so notorious?" Jiraiya asked as he kept walking.

Hinata thought about this briefly before responding from her point of view. "Their genjutsus." Hinata said.

Jiraiya immediately and loudly reacted to her answer. "WRONG! While that is indeed their most dangerous weapon it is not what they are most renowned for. They're best known for their ability to copy jutsus." Jiraiya stopped. "Are you willing to swallow your pride Hinata?" He asked in a serious tone.

Hinata didn't know why he asked in that manner, she didn't have much pride to begin with and thought maybe it wouldn't be to hard for her to do so. "H-hai." As soon as the affirmation was out of her mouth she began questioning it.

The grin returned to Jiraiya's face with a vengeance. "Then let's begin the training." without having really noticed her surroundings Hinata was stunned when she noticed they had returned to the hot-springs. When she looked back at Jiraiaya he was looking right back at her.

**PREVIEW**

What is Hinata going to learn and how will she handle her lessons. What's going on with Naruto and the others. Has Gaara finally woken up. Gotta read the next chapter to find out.

**RSO'S**

jeefus- thanx, I'm glad you enjoyed the ending. I thought it was pretty cool as well. You'll be surprised how much Naruto has grown and so will he. I'll try to put more fluff in. Or at least begin hinting at it. lol oh how I love holding everybody in suspense. Muahhahahahaha. Sorry, did I type that out loud.

causeiambetta- Hai it is alot of questions to be answered. Temari's words are pretty logical even without everything going on it's not smart to show everybody your most awesomest jutsus.

danny- Sorry, but better late than never, right? Yeah, I'm wanting to have her discuss it with Gaara in the very near future. Damn was that a giveaway. Okay, I guess I can live with it, moving on. There are some things that I'm gonna not let her know about just yet, but you just gotta wait and see how it unfolds. The way you read that dream was.. wow. I didn't put that much thought into it, but I guess that's part of the beauty of writing. Let me see. Wind, ka-ching that was pretty dead on. The cliff that separated them will be explained when Naruto does his deal with the Kyubii. It does fit well with the two and a half days, but that wasn't my intention. The fox's actions or lack thereof will also be explained. The person on the other side I'll leave a complete mystery for now. Theoretically the bottom of the cliff was the ground, so I guess slamming into it and having it take away your life would make it the enemy, but I didn't really think that much about it. However your interpretation was pretty cool. Soon. Sorry I know I've made everybody wait, but it'll be worth it.

dragonman180- don't jinx it. Keep the faith, Naruto'll figure things out... I hope.

crazygirlofmanynames-something like that.

chickenconcarne- damn, you need to slow down so I can have time to update. 2 days? Wow! Oh ey, no way if I start to read what I right and fix it I'd never get a chapter done. Man, then people would really be mad. I try to improve, but I'm doing this for the love of writing so I don't feel I have to be perfect. Thanx for the compliment though, I hope you don't hate me for not being perfect. I try.

shadowneji- Oh yeah!


	40. Chapter 40

Alright, finally put on the finishing touches. Hope everyone enjoys. Okay, I didn't actually put in any finishing touches, nor did I edit or perfect this chapter. Oh, but at least I'm honest, that's gotta count for something... doesn't it.

**WAKING UP**

His eyes slowly opened and he found himself looking at the ceiling. He lay there thinking maybe it had been all a dream. He tried getting up and felt the strain of his muscles to comply. This told him it had not been a dream. His muscles hadn't experienced atrophy, but they were definitely feeling raw. He managed to get to sitting position and took in his surroundings. He was in the infirmary as he scanned the room his eyes fell on Temari and Hirai. He looked down into his lap as a surge of emotion overtook him. Ever since his fight with Naruto he had worked hard to make changes in himself to attain the same things as Naruto. To have a goal and work towards that goal to earn the respect of those around him and know what it was that made Naruto fight so hard. Sitting there in the infirmary he realized he had accomplished his goals. A tear rolled down his cheek, he had never been good communicating with others and while he fought for others he was never certain if they would do the same for him. He felt bad about the ordeal they all went through, but the feeling he felt after getting through it was indescribable. He forced his body into moving and got up a little uncertain at first, but willing himself not to fall. He wiped away the tear on his cheek and very slowly made his way towards Temari. After a couple of minutes he reached them. He took a deep silent breath and put his hand against the wall for support. He looked down at his sister and put his hand ever so lightly on her shoulder. He hadn't really thought about what he was doing and as he put his hand on her shoulder he questioned if he really wanted her to wake up at that moment. That decision however was made for him though as Temari shifted and slowly looked up into his face. Temari couldn't believe what she was seeing. Tears began streaming down her cheek as she uttered his name. "Gaara." That was all she could say as the emotions choked her throat. She had slowly taken her hands off Hirai and wrapped them around Gaara's midsection. She then tightened her embrace and pulled him towards her. He buried her face in his lower chest as the tears kept coming. A few seconds passed before she let him go and said. "We're so glad that you're finally back with us." She said in a choked up voice.

Gaara had rarely been hugged and being hugged by Temari stunned him somewhat. He felt good, but at the same time he felt awkward. He did not know how to respond very well. Hirai meanwhile had awoken due to Temari's shifting. Tears were also in her eyes as she sat up. She leaned towards Gaara stood up and embraced him as well. That was all she could think to do. She couldn't get any words out. This action also sent a different feeling through Gaara. He returned Hirai's hug uncertainly and looked at Temari as he did so. Hirai felt him return the embrace and felt her mind go totally blank with an explosion of emotion. When Gaara broke the embrace Hirai fell limply into the chair she had previously been laying on. Gaara turned to Temari not really minding Hirai's reaction and said. "We have much to discuss." Temari nodded in agreement to this and began updating Gaara on the events that had transpired.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\\/\/\/

Naruto had been lying on the bed awake for a good while. He had been thinking about his dream and didn't know what to make of it. He finally decided it was time to stop thinking about it and get ready for the day. He wanted to get some training done here and make sure Gaara recovered. He got up and washed. He organized his thoughts and decided he wanted to check on Kakashi and Tenten first. Then see how Gaara was doing and then get some training done. With plan in hand he began getting dressed and was once again in a good mood, the dream being pushed to the back of his mind.

Kakashi had been laying awake in his bed for a while. He sat up and was surprised at how refreshed his body now felt. His respect for Sakura's skills grew. He wanted to get out and make sure everything had turned out well. He knew he needed to rest, but he was just worried. He tried to calm himself by meditating and had some level of success. He relaxed and decided to go over everything that had happened. He was really worried about how Naruto was and if they had been successful, but he pushed that thought out of his mind knowing that he would soon find out. He thought about Chiyo and the lost opportunity to gain information about the Uzumaki clan. He was still deep in thought when the door opened and in walked none other than Naruto. Kakashi eyes widened as he saw who stepped through the door. He already had put on his mask in order to rest his sharingan. Naruto closed the door behind him and smiled as he waved at Kakashi and greeted him. "How you feeling Kakashi-sensei?" He said enthusiastically. He walked over to Kakashi's bedside dragging a chair with him as he went.

Kakashi let out a breath of relief before answering. "I'm doing as well as can be expected." He waited until Naruto sat down before asking. "So what happened with the mission? I take it, it was successful." Kakashi said.

Naruto smiled at this. "Yeah. Did you ever doubt us!" Naruto waited to see Kakashi laugh and deny it, but when he didn't do so immediately Naruto became very animated. "I can't believe you doubted! We're team seven Kakashi-sensei! Failure is like, like... like something we're not capable of! Shame sticks on you Kakashi-sensei." Naruto was doing the motion with his fingers pointing one at Kakashi and repeatedly sliding the other one over it. He stopped after a few times though and changed the direction of the conversation almost instantly. "I guess I can't blame you since you've been away from Konoha's future Hokage for so long! I mean could I blame you for not knowing how awesomely strong I've become!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi could see his former student was about to go on a rant and decided to stop him before he really took off. "So what happened Naruto?" Kakashi asked in a loud and clear voice. Naruto stopped as he heard Kakashi's question. He calmed down quickly and composed himself. He then proceeded to relate everything that had happened to him after they had split up in the desert. Kakashi listened intently stopping Naruto every now and then to ask a question or make sure he heard right. It took Naruto roughly twenty minutes to finish telling Kakashi what happened. After he finished they both sat in silence for a few seconds as Naruto let everything sink in for Kakashi. After a few seconds Kakashi looked at Naruto and reached out with his hand and ruffled Naruto's hair. "I'm real proud of you Naruto. You did well." Kakashi said.

Naruto smiled and replied. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei, but it was a team thing. We all did our part. So what happened with you guys after we left." Naruto had no idea how badly Kakashi had been hurt he had healed well and it wasn't really noticeable anymore. This time it was Kakashi who spoke as Naruto listened intently. It took Kakashi a little over a half hour to finish telling his story because Naruto interrupted much more often. The first question out of Naruto's mouth after Kakashi finished his story was. "How is Sakura dealing with everything?"

Kakashi hadn't seen her and he wasn't about to try and guess. "Naruto, I have no clue. She handled everything very well after we returned, but she's the only one that could really answer that for you." Kakashi said. Naruto looked down between his lap as he thought about this. She seemed okay last night when they had brought in Gaara and Naruto wished he had known, but after a few seconds he remembered that Sakura was not some emotionally weak person and he trusted her. He knew she would pull through it, he would just have to be there for her if she needed him. A grin touched his mouth as he thought about that. A shoulder to lean on he thought to himself. As these unforgivable thoughts entered his mind the door opened and Kakashi and Naruto turned to see Sakura coming in. Naruto quickly wiped those thoughts from his mind. Actually seeing her reminded him how violent she could be, no reason in particular, but he sometimes he caught himself remembering the old her and every time he saw her again the new her was forcefully brought to his mind. Naruto almost reached up to rub his jaw again, but was able to stop himself as Kakashi greeted her. "Good morning Sakura. How are you feeling." Kakashi asked.

Naruto raised in hand in greeting and said. "Hey Sakura."

Sakura looked from Kakashi to Naruto and back again and smiled softly as she responded. "I'm feeling better now that I see both of you are doing fine." She looked at Naruto and asked him. "How long have you been here?" Sakura had actually gone to look for Naruto first, but he had not been in his room. She wanted to spend some time with him and talk about a lot of things. However it looked like that time would have to wait a little bit longer. She had been solemn since then from the disappointment, but at least she would spend a little time with her long-time friend.

Naruto hadn't kept track of the time and looked skyward as he thought about this. Kakashi answered for him. "He's been here a little bit under an hour."

Sakura took a seat on the other side of Kakashi and asked. "Your feeling better right Kakashi-sensei?" to which Kakashi nodded his head. "I'm glad, you just need to rest and take it easy for today and tomorrow you should be back to full strength." She said this in a warm friendly voice and then smiled warmly at him. She then turned to Naruto with renewed interest and asked. "So what happened to you last night?" She asked referring to his mission. Naruto obliged in recounting his tale. He took about half and hour this time as he embellished a little bit more seeing how attentive Sakura was. Sakura payed close attention not only to his story, but also to the way he told the story. She had realized how little she really knew Naruto and she wanted to start getting to know her friend better. Once Naruto finished they sat there in thought for about a minute. Naruto didn't really know what else to say.

Naruto got up out of his chair and said. "It's good to see you're doing well Kakashi. I want to go check on Tenten, so I'll be going if you don't mind."

Kakashi replied patiently. "I don't mind at all Naruto. We should talk later though." Kakashi said.

Naruto turned to Sakura and asked. "Do you wanna come with me." He asked her.

Sakura thought about this and even though she did want to go she wanted to talk to Kakashi for a little bit and she had already dropped in to check on Tenten on the way here. "Gomen, Naruto. I'll catch up with you later on today though." She said.

Naruto was slightly disappointed, but he didn't let it affect him as he said. "It's no problem. I'll see you later then." He then left the room and went to find Tenten's room.

Neji had been in the room with Tenten since he woke up. He had made a beeline to her room with Lee accompanying him very early. Lee had left earlier that morning to begin training. About a minute and a half after Lee had left the room Sakura came into the room to check on Tenten's condition. Sakura had been surprised to find Neji in the room by himself. They made small talk as she went through her checkup. Tenten didn't wake up through it all as Sakura did most of her work with her chakra. When she finished she told Neji Tenten would be fine and should wake up soon. She then thanked them for coming to their aid and left the room. Neji was left alone in the room with a sleeping Tenten.

Neji placed a chair right next to Tenten's bed and sat down next to her. He sat there for a long time with a lot of thoughts running through his mind. Really he thought about Tenten and their relationship through the years. Now that he saw her in this condition he reflected on everything they had gone through as a team. It was very unusual for Neji to voice his thoughts, but he saw she was still sleeping and thought it would help him unravel his thoughts better. He clasped his hands together and brought them to his forehead and tapped it softly he then leaned forward and placed them on Tenten's bed and leaned his weight on it. Unbeknown to him when he leaned forward was the fact that Tenten was a light sleeper, but slow to really wake up. She felt the weight shift and felt herself regaining consciousness, however she didn't open her eyes as she heard Neji begin to speak. Had Neji looked up he might have noticed the tiny tick on Tenten's face before it relaxed again. Unfortunately for him he had his head down as he began to speak. "It's strange you know. We've been a team for such a long time, we know each other's tendencies on missions and yet I find myself lacking words to communicate sometimes. I know you'd probably laugh at me if you heard me Ten, but I feel that it's true. Sometimes I wonder if they knew what they were really doing when they put us all on the team. To imagine that on top of having Lee in my group we ended up under Gai-sensei. I think I would have lost my mind a long time ago had you not been in our group." Tenten was struggling not to let herself blush, not to give any hint that she was conscious because she had always wanted to hear Neji being honest and candid. However what he was saying was really affecting her emotionally. Neji didn't know any of this he simply kept going with his speech. "I don't mean it was all bad with them, I've grown to really respect them for who they are. Lee and his honesty, really, sometimes I can't believe how easily he just blurts out what he feels. It's like he has no brain mechanism that tells him what's prudent. Not that it's a bad thing, well I guess it can seem like it at times. I... sometimes I envy that, the freedom to just say what you feel. Sometimes. Then there's Gai, when I first met him he looked like an inept teacher. Never would I have expected the depth of wisdom he possesses. His mannerism is what throws you off." Neji paused reflecting on what he was saying before going on. Tenten had never heard Neji being so candid and was loving hearing him talk like this so openly. Her only regret was that she had to keep pretending she was still asleep, but she thought to herself. 'I would pretend I was asleep everyday if he would be this open with me.' Tenten herself had a strong crush on Neji and she couldn't bring herself to tell him. So she felt she could relate to how he felt about Lee. She let out a long breath unintentionally. Neji noticed this and looked up at her face. He saw no change. He figured it must have been his imagination. He also let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair. He thought about something briefly and began voicing it before he could stop himself. He was trying to be more like Lee as far as being honest. "Tenten, for a long time I didn't realize what it meant to me having you on my team. Funny really how I'm so keen in my observations and I never really had this... epiphany until recently. I know you're asleep and won't hear me, but I guess I just wanted to let you know that I really..." At that moment he broke off as someone opened the door and walked in. Tenten couldn't believe this was happening, why her, why now. Her heart had stopped, what was Neji going to say? She didn't know what to do, she felt her only option was to remain in her condition, if she woke up Neji would think it suspicious. Her only hope was that whoever it was would leave really quickly.

Walking through the door was none other than Naruto. He looked into the room and his eyes immediately found Neji sitting next to Tenten. Naruto walked over to him and asked him. "So how is she doing?"

Neji was surprised by Naruto's arrival and cleared his throat as he re-composed himself. He then proceeded to explain the situation in it's entirety. He finished by explaining his presence there. "I trust Sakura, but I just wanted to make sure she was okay." He said.

Naruto had listened to everything and walked over to Tenten's bedside. She had lost hope a while ago that Neji would go back to finishing what he was saying. 'Damn you Naruto, why couldn't you have waited another minute.' She heard Naruto's voice. "Hey Tenten, I know your still asleep, but I hope you wake up soon and feel better." He then turned to Neji and said. "So how about it Neji show me where Lee is so we can train."

Neji looked at Tenten on the bed and replied. "I don't know Naruto, I would like to make sure Tenten is okay."

Naruto quickly shot down his argument. "I know she's your team mate and all, but Sakura said she would wake up soon. You should let her get her rest. I'm sure you'll have time to talk to her once she's up." He paused at this seeing the hesitant look on Neji's face. "Unless I missed something. Is she your this Neji?" Naruto asked indicating with his pinky what he meant. Tenten felt like she was being tortured. 'Am I what! Damn you Naruto, don't do this to me you bastard!'

Neji was taken aback by Naruto's question. He actually stuttered as he caved in. "I- I guess you have a point Naruto. You didn't miss, ano, anything however. I- I'll go with you." He turned to follow Naruto out of the room. They both made their way out of the room.

The door had closed behind them and only a few seconds had gone by when two kunnai slammed into the wood. Tenten was now sitting up frustrated. "I swear...MEN!" She said loudly and then slammed herself back into the mattress throwing the covers over her head.

**PREVIEW**

Training with Hinata, battles galore and speeding through the story to get to the next part.

**RSO'S**

dragonman180- Im so sorry, I'm working on finishing up this arc. Oh, she'll have help getting... sorry, you'll just have to wait in see, I know you've been waiting I'll try to get to it asap.

causeiambetta- oh you gotta wait til next ch. then.

sirus- Man, I set myself up for that one didn't I.

danny- Well, the length of the hair is tied into how much chakra you put into the jutsu as does the hardness, I think Kiba will find a different balance than Jiraiaya. Don't worry, Jiraiya's comment will be explained in the next chapter. Well I'm not sure, I was thinking about using elements before and I still think I got something in store for Naruto that will be super badass. I'm up to date with the manga for sure, but I didn't know they were gonna use elements I need to try and hurry up before they take any more of my ideas. J/K.

crazygirlofmanynames- you'll see Naruto's developments soon.

narashikamaru- Yeah, training rocks. Thanx for the compliment. Lol, you genious you. Don't copy right, I don't wanna get sued... I'm poor I can't afford to get sued. Thanx for reviewing.

reikeage-sama- It's coming, sorry for the long wait.

chicken con carne- Thanx, hopefully you'll keep reading. I always think I'll get tired of compliments, but then I get one and I realize, I'm addicted to them. Lol.

asianwriter- Thanx, I'm glad you found my story. Sorry, I don't have any immediate plans for Sasuke, he'll show up later. Ummm Naruto got's a long way to go before those things happen. No problem, I don't mind answering questions, I think it helps the reading experience.


	41. Chapter 41

Hello everybody. Sorry about the delay, but recently friends and family have been forcing me to "get a life." or "find a girl." Thus keeping me away from the computer. Nevertheless I'm still doing my best to keep going. lol. Anyways I hope everybody enjoys this chapter. I'm going to really try pushing the story line with these next few chapters. Don't forget to review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**HINATA'S LESSON CONTINUES**

Hinata had felt a little nervous at Jiraiya's last comment, but didn't say anything. She waited to hear out what he really meant. Jiraiaya sensed her discomfort and smiled a mischievous grin. He let the moment hang in the air before he explained himself. "Your clan is extremely proud of it's techniques and skills. I haven't known you long, but let me ask. Why do you use your your byakugan in a fight?" Now it was his turn to wait as she thought of a response.

Hinata thought about this, she didn't really know what answer he wanted to hear. She thought about herself in a fight and after a few moments of thinking she looked up a little unsure of herself and answered. "Ano, I use it to find enemies chakra points, analyze their fighting style and counter it, and use it to avoid attacks which I would otherwise not see." She was basically speaking to herself as she did that however she then turned to Jiraiaya to see if she had answered the question right.

Jiraiya had expected as much. He never had a Hyugga pupil before and thought this should be interesting. "Hinata, did you ever consider using your blood limit to learn." He could tell from her blank expression that she had not. "It's okay, it's not your fault. That's the way you were brought up." He paused reflecting on what he knew about her clan. "Your byakugaan is much more potent than the sharingan in that aspect. The sharingan can't pick up everything if someone moves fast enough they can miss a movement, and if it's under their cloak or out of their vision you on the other hand can do better." He began walking around the large stone "Do you know how your affinities to the elements allow your blood limit to function?" He asked as he kept walking.

This was something Hinata did know, she answered with a little more confidence this time. She stayed where she was not knowing what to expect. "Hai, our affinity to lighting shocks our system into the state where our blood limit works and the wind affinity allows more flow of oxygen and blood so that we can sustain the state for a prolonged time." She finished. She wondered if he wanted to know all the details and waited to see if he asked.

Jiraiaya was impressed and said so. "Wow, Hinata that was very well said." He was going behind the stone now so he didn't see her blush. He was sure she knew her affinity with lightning surpassed the Uchihas. He also suspected that she knew exactly how it was that the wind allowed her to see so much as it sent all the information to her brain with more clarity due to the increased heart rate. As he thought about it, he was really amazed at how well built the Hyugaa clan members were. "Okay, this is what I want you to do. Turn on your byakugan and watch me make some seals. I don't want to hear any questions I just want you to imitate what I do as quickly and accurately as you can. Will you do that for me?" He asked.

Hinata had already turned on her blood limit and saw him on the other side of the stone. She gave him her affirmative and took in a deep breath. She had heard of the Uchiha's copy Jutsu which was less of a jutsu and more of a skill, but had never thought of using it. She cleared her mind as everything came into clearer focus. She looked through the stone and awaited Jiraiya's instructions. However none were forthcoming as he simply nodded. Hinata was about to start thinking when everything sort of clicked and she immediately brought up her hands. About two seconds passed when suddenly she saw Jiraiya begin forming seals at a break-neck speed, however she die not miss a single one and her hands did perfectly what she asked them to do. As Jiraiya performed his last seal he lowered his arms towards the ground and Hinata did the same. As she did so she felt the chakra leave her body and saw the ground begin to raise up like a mole was under digging a tunnel furiously. As she followed the path of her jutsu the disturbed earth came to a stop a few feet away from the stone and a small rock outcropping violently erupted from the ground and struck the stone. Hinata was confused about what had just happened, but she noticed that the outcropping on Jiraiya's side was much bigger. She relaxed and turned off her blood limit as she saw him walking back around the stone to see how she had done. She was already feeling bad that her outcropping was so small.

To her surprise Jiraiya looked at the outcropping and then looked at her. He gave her a thumbs up and said. "Good job Hinata." Hinata was totally shocked. She had no idea what to say or how to react. He saw Hinata's surprise and asked with a clueless expression. "What's wrong Hinata?" He saw nothing wrong with how she did.

Hinata stuttered her reply. "I- I couldn't make the outcropping like yours. A-are you just saying that to make me feel good? I-I can d-deal with criticism. P-please be honest." She said she wanted to just fall to her knees she was so disappointed with herself.

Jiraiaya still didn't fully understand how fragile her confidence could be at times, but he understood that she didn't get the purpose of the exercise. He didn't realize the reason she was so down on herself was because she had expected much better results. He just tried to explain it to her and hoped it would ease her worries. "The purpose of this exercise is for you to learn a few new jutsu's and identify if you have any other affinities we aren't aware of. In addition to that it was a test to see how good your byakugan really works." He smiled as he kept going knowing that what he was about to tell her was sure to brighten her mood. "There's no way an Uchiha shinobi woulda been able to copy that jutsu the way you did. Plus, because of the focus you achieve while using your blood limit you retain how to perform the seals perfectly. Right?" He saw that she was becoming more at ease once again. "Don't think it's a test for you to get the exact same results as me. I just have a stronger affinity to earth than you. Plus, I'm a legendary Sannin." He finished. He had a big smile on his face as he said this.

Hinata could not tell if he was joking about the last part, but she couldn't help, but smile. What he said made sense and he was a legendary warrior. Even though she hadn't heard that much about him she had heard about him. She looked up with new determination in her eyes. "Hai, thank you for your kind works Jiraiya-sama. I won't let you down." She said.

Jiraiya smiled and gave her the thumbs up once again. "Alright, that's what I wanna hear." He walked over to the other side of the stone once again. As he walked a thought re-occured to him. 'Naruto was right, Hinata is weird.' He also decided on what element to do next. He was weak with it so Hinata wouldn't feel bad if she compared their output. He waited a few moments he then asked Hinata if she was ready. "You ready over there?!"

Hinata had turned on her blood limit and let herself relax. She reminded herself that she was just beginning the training and would have more time to improve so it wasn't important how well she did right now. She heard Jiraiaya's question and answered quickly. "Hai!!" She said in a loud and confident voice. She focused on him and saw him begin forming his seals. Her mind went blank as she focused and copied him. When she finished her seals she felt her lungs expand and breathed out. As she began to breathe out she felt her mouth grow cold and suddenly instead breathing air out of her mouth she felt water rushing out. She didn't panic however as she saw Jiraiya was doing the same thing. The sensation passed after a few moments and once she stopped expelling water she placed her hand over her chest wondering what she had just done. Jiraiya was once again walking around the stone and looked at what she had done. He looked at the area that was wet and looked up at Hinata. She asked him what she was wondering about. "What exactly did I do? Jiraiya-san."

Jiraiya beamed at that. He really liked the way she showed him respect. Unlike other people he knew. He answered the question readily enough. "The jutsu's I'm showing you are summoning jutsu's. You're basically summoning the elements to your body and expelling them. The first one was earth since it is so close most of the time it works a little differently you can summon it and push it in whatever direction you want. Wind is summoned into your lungs and you expel a large amount of it from your lungs. Since I know you're compatible with wind I decided to wait to try your compatible elements last. However in Water and Fire there is an element of wind so when you summon it the wind is summoned first and then the moisture or in the case of fire gases are summoned second to summon the elements in a way that you can push them out. In addition an element of electricity which is conducted by your body goes into creating the spark which you use to create the fire outside of your body." He paused and once again thought about how conveniently made the Hyuga clan was. "Even though you don't have an affinity to either water or fire, due to your other affinities you're summoning of water and fire will be above average. You get what I'm saying?" Jiraiya asked.

Hinata nodded it all seemed to make sense. After having these questions answered another one poped into her head and began coming out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "What about Naru..." She caught herself, but now that she had already started and Jiraiaya was waiting she felt she had to finish the question. "Ano, Naruto? What w-were his af-affinities? Ano, I mean a-are?" She could feel the heat rising and was hoping furiously she wasn't blushing. Jiraiya didn't notice as he looked down at the ground at this question.

Naruto's affinities, Jiraiya thought. Even though Jiraiaya had been with Naruto for so long he was still not sure how to answer. He turned around with this on his mind and said to her as he walked to the other side. "That is something best left for him to explain to you. You'll see him soon enough, I think. Don't forget to ask him." Hinata was now blushing furiously. She would have to ask him. She covered her face with her hands trying to hide the blush. She tried to compose herself. She put them down as Jiraiya called back. "Okay Hinata are you ready?"

She quickly turned on her blood-limit and yelled her affirmative. "Hai, Jiraiya-san I'm ready!" She focused on Jiraiya to learn the next set of seals and summonings. They went through the same process as they covered all the elements and Hinata successfully learned all of them. She had been rather pleased with the lightning. It had felt like chills running through her body towards her hands and an explosion of lightning erupting from right in front of her hand. Jiraiya had explained this element as well after they did it and she liked the fact that it was active as long as she held the last seal. It was a splendid show to her as she caught the electricity branch out and strike the water of the hot-springs.

As they were walking back to camp after their training session he told her what was on his mind. "You were very impressive, your affinity's to lightning and wind were off the charts. Your fire and water were a little bit above average and your earth was below average, but that shouldn't be a problem, you got a lot of room to grow without earth as it is." He paused a moment and was pleasantly surprised by her gratitude.

"Arigatou, Jiraiya-san. I was just..." She was blushing again, she still wasn't used to compliments. "I just did what you asked of me." She then fell silent not knowin what else to say.

Jiriaya thought she was to humble, but didn't say anything, instead he continued with his previous conversation. "I gotta admit I was also impressed with your speed picking up the copy skill. However you gotta know your limits, Even though your skills surpass that of the Uchiha clan you are still unable to copy blood-limits or others or if they use props or weapons. You'll be able to decipher when it is wise to use them I would hope. Anyways now that you got this skill you should be able to develop your skills quickly, but never forget that training is always important to master what you learn. This way you can make whatever skills you learn your own." He finished. Hinata commited all of his words to memory. Thinking all the while she was going to improve greatly on this trip. They then went back to meet with Shino. Jiraiya then summoned the frogs and they were on their way to their next destination.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Naruto followed Neji to the training area. They walked along casually making small conversation. Naruto was insistent on knowing how much Lee had improved, but Neji would not say. After a while of prodding and asking if they were almost to the training area Neji was all too happy to finally reach it. They walked through two huge doors and came to the other side. Naruto let out an exclamation of awe as they entered. The training area was huge he scanned the area and his eyes first found Temari and Hirai speaking to one another, it seemed they had just finished training as they were both wiping sweat off their foreheads. Naruto was about to start walking towards them when a familiar face instantly jumped in front of him making him jump back in surprise. It was Lee that was now standing right in front of them. Lee took no notice of Naruto's reaction instead beginning his speech. "So Naruto like true rivals our paths have once again crossed. This is a sign that we must pit our skills against one another and see who has grown the most in the way of the honorable shinobi." Naruto was now in a sitting position looking at Lee in disbelief. He really hadn't changed at all Naruto thought. Neji's thoughts were going along the same line. He was thinking 'this is the only training area they showed us, and your paths crossed with Naruto yesterday. Lee... baka. Lee however was to into his speech to notice their looks. He flipped and landed on one finger he then began to do one fingered push-up's while he kept talking. "As you can see the beautiful blue beast of Konoha has grown much stronger."

Naruto meanwhile had gotten up and dusted himself off. He walked towards Lee as he began talking. "Oh yeah right, I forgot that was supposed to scare me." Lee had returned to his feet and was watching Naruto like a hawk. He didn't like the sneaky look on the blond shinobi's face. Naruto stopped a few feet in front of Lee as he kept talking. "Strength is no good if you don't have something I like to call sp-" Three things happened in that instant. Naruto launched a punch of blinding speed. Lee however also moved with equally blinding speed. However at that very moment Temari's huge fan fell in between them. Naruto and Lee couldn't stop themselves in time so Naruto ended up punching the fan into Lee's open palm. "WHAT THE HELL?!!" Naruto yelled.

A few yards away from them Hirai let out an exclamation of admiration. "Wow, Temari-san you must really know them well to have timed that so well." She was walking fast trying to keep up with Temari and didn't see the huge pulsing vein on her forehead. Temari had not heard a thing that Hirai had said. She was worried about her fan. It was her favorite fan, Shikamaru had liked it when he saw her and she had a reason to favor it now. God help them if they had broken it. She had just done it as a stylish way to make an entrance and get Naruto to spar Hirai first. She saw Naruto pull his hand back and the fan remained intact. A ray of relief shot through Temari. When she reached them she had once again composed herself. Naruto and Lee both looked at her with anxiety and curiosity. They waited for her to speak and she obliged. "Gomen, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to ask Naruto a favor." She directed her gaze at Naruto who met her gaze with a look of curiosity. "My Kohai here would like to spar with you. I'd like you to fight her before you two begin destroying each other. Is that acceptable... Naruto?" She asked.

Naruto gulped the look she had given him had only left him with one option. "Sure thing Temari." He let out a nervous laugh. "Who's you kohai?" He asked. Temari nodded towards Hirai. Naruto's eyes widened a little bit at this, but he wasn't about to refuse her request. He began walking forward towards the center of the training ground. Hirai's eyes following every step of the way.

Temari put her hand on Hirai's shoulder briefly and said. "Here's your chance. Good luck and remember what I said." She then patted her on the shoulder twice and gave her a push. Hirai began walking forward.

Neji had observed all this and commended Temari for how she had handled the situation. "You don't want your pupil to show Naruto her limit do you? You are a good tactician. Do you think she'll have a shot at beating Naruto?" He said coolly.

Temari shot him a knowing look. "You should know the answer to that, but regardless of the outcome there is something to learn from this." She turned to Lee and thanked him as she took her fan from him. "Arigatou, Lee. I'm glad you didn't break it. It's on-" She was about to say one of my favorites, but as she took the fan and pulled it towards her it broke. She paused and looked at the fan for a moment before the vein exploded on her forehead. Neji saw this as it was happening. This did not look good for them.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

To clarify for those that are curious about Hinata's blood limit. The reason wind helps her so much is because it speeds up the heartbeat. If you know about animal anatomy it should come as no surprise that animals with faster heartbeats such as birds and other animals have great reaction times as well as vision because all the information is processed at a faster rate. While animals with slower heart rates process the information at a slower rate thus worse reaction time and worse sense of vision. The mind in these animals does not process the information fast enough for them to pick up all the details of what they are seeing. I hope this clarified somewhat what I was talking about in the ch. There is another aspect of this that I will touch on later so for now I'll leave it at this.

**PREVIEW**

What's going to happen with Naruto and Hirai. Will Neji and Lee survive Temari's wrath. How far is team 8 going.

**RSO'S**

asianwriter- I hope you're really patient then. Sorry bout that.

narashikamaru21- Great to know, now I can do whatever I want without having to worry about you suing me. J/K. Thank you for the compliment, I know it's not Naru/Hina, but it gives me practice. Hope you enjoy this one. Sorry, haven't gotten to read Ch. 13 yet, my life is very hectic at the moment, but I'll try to read it asap and review.

danny- I know huh, man if Naruto had done that to me I don't know if I would have been able to wait until he left before throwing those kunnai's. Yeah, Gaara must be loving being back. Thanx and I will.

causiambetta- Oh... that's a good question. I'm glad you liked it.

dragonman180- yeah. I'm gonna start pressing the story forward quickly in the next two chapters. Still got some things to cover, but I'll get them together asap.

crazygirlofmanynames- She'll be fine. Thanx.

ryan- Thanx, hope you like the rest of the story.

dragonnick- Alright!!!

warprince- done.

sirus- thanx.

aquakyubi- Thanx for the review. Well, I don't know what you mean about the plotline, but it's still developing so hopefully it'll get better. I try to make the battles easy to read so as not to loose the pace of it. I'll try to keep that in mind in the next fights though. You mean like do aurthor notes at the end describing the jutsu's. That's not a bad idea. I'll take that into consideration.


	42. Chapter 42

Gaaaaahhhhh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to take so long to finish this chapter, please accept my apologies. I've had so many things going on it's just been harder to make time. If only I could type faster. I hope everybody enjoys this chapter. HAPPY HOLIDAYS. There are so many other things I wanted to say, but the site erased my previous explanation so I hope this is okay. As always, reviews are welcome.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**HIRAI'S RAGE**

As Naruto walked out to the middle of the training ground to face off against Hirai a thought crept into his mind. Would there be any difference without the fox's presence? He wanted to go all out to find out, but he knew he had to save most of his energy for Lee. He hoped that Hirai wasn't to tough and decided to start of lightly. He got to the middle of the training ground and waited for Hirai to get set. They looked at each other and Naruto said. "Are you ready?" He saw her nod and set herself, but he also noted a second of hesitation. She was unsure of how to proceed. His smile grew as he realized how unfair this was for her. As they were about to begin Naruto heard a scuffle near the entrance of the training area. Hirai heard it too and turned towards the source. However before her eyes could set on the cause of the scuffle a voice broke into her ears. "You should focus on your opponent. In this case that's me Uzumaki Naruto! Cuz if you don't you'll soon find your ass kicked!" Her head whipped back to him immediately. This arrogant person, she thought, I'll show him not to underestimate me. Hirai saw he was just standing there. It infuriated her, his casual stance. With unexpected speed she reached for a kunnai in her waist pack and launched it at Naruto. As soon as the kunnai was on it's trajectory she was running right behind it. Pulling out her kodachis as she ran. She saw him form a few seals, but didn't know what they were. However she saw no results and kept charging in she wasn't going to let him finish whatever jutsu he was trying to do. He caught the kunnai deftly with one hand and began parrying her attacks with it. She was moving as fast as her limbs would allow and yet he was parrying all her attacks with ease. Naruto was able to read her movements with ease. He didn't need a blood limit to see what she was going to do because her body telegraphed where it was going and her motions seemed to linear. As Naruto sparred with her he reflected on his younger days. Was he that transparent before? Were his moves so easily read as Hirai's were? He swung her arm to the side to open her guard up so he could attack when suddenly his clone which had been watching from behind stepped in and blocked the kunnai he had just parried to open her guard. Had the clone not stepped in she could have stabbed him without having to adjust her hands a fraction of a second that Naruto hadn't anticipated could have cost him the fight. A look of surprised appeared on both their faces. Naruto for having missed the fact that the kodachi's were double bladed and he had been baited into thinking he had opened up her guard, he realized he had underestimated her and saw another similarity to his younger self. Hirai for not having noticed the clone appear behind her and watch her through all her fighting. He had let her think she had the upper hand while he actually could have taken her out with ease the whole while.

Naruto's clone had caught a glimpse of the scuffle before he stepped in to help. It seemed that Lee was laying on the ground. Which would be correct. Lee had smiled and tried to apologize about the broken fan to Temari. However he was only able to get out a "Ano, gom-" His apology was cut short right then by a vicious right hand. Temari was not about to let Lee get away with this so lightly. She was about to pounce on Lee when Neji caught her from behind and tried to restrain her. She struggled for a second, but changed tactic's quickly.

She whispered in a dangerous voice to him. "You're going to have to let me go sometime. You might as well do it now. If you don't it'll only get worse." She stood still, but Neji could still feel her heavy breathing.

Neji quickly scoured his mind for a way to get out of this situation. They were after all in her village and at a big disadvantage if she did decide to turn on them. What did he know about her that he could use. Suddenly his mind went to something he had seen with byakugaan one day while training. It had not been intentionally seen, but now he brought it up in hopes it would have the desired effect on her. "Hai, what you say may be true. However I know about your precious... Shiki." Temari's eyes widened with shock. "Get rid of us and whenever they go through my journals in investigating my death I'm sure they'll stumble upon that tidbit. Maybe this makes no difference to you, but... what would your Kage think?" Neji said in his serious matter of fact voice.

Temari hadn't expected this turn of events. Nor had she expected Neji to use that information in such a manner. "You're lying." She said with little conviction. She didn't know Neji that well, but what she did know didn't help her cause.

Neji heard the uncertainty in her voice and knew he had her. He eased his grip on her as he whispered into her ear. "I have no reason to say anything. Let this go and I won't... you have a pupil to look after right now as well. Do we have a deal?" He felt the tension go out of her and knew his answer before she voiced it.

Temari saw the reason in his words. Even though she was still pissed off about her fan she knew she needed to make sure nothing happened that would endanger the villages relationship. She reluctantly said. "Hai, I agree." As she said this Neji immediately let go. He went to check on Lee who was starting to come around. She crouched down to pick up her broken fan and cradled it in her arms to inspect it. She wondered and hoped that it could be fixed. She then focused on her pupil.

Hirai jumped back after the parry. She didn't see him complete the seals and hadn't thought he pulled of the jutsu however she wasn't about to be outdone by some clone. She began forming her seals as well to form her own clone. However as she was doing this she saw that both Naruto's were also doing this. Was he mocking her she wondered. This began to anger her as she finished her jutsu and a clone appeared beside her. However almost instantly after she finished her jutsu there appeared two more clones next to the pair of Naruto's. She realized immediately that she had made a mistake. She had taken her eye's off him for a second and when she saw both of them performing the seals it was not an attempt to mock her, but to confuse her. To her dismay it had worked. She didn't know which one was the real one. Loosing track of the real one made her job harder, not much she thought to herself, because she would have to eliminate the clones first. Hirai didn't hesitate she and her clone both launched themselves at the Naruto clones. Naruto was somewhat surprised by her launching herself at him in such a manner. She was upon him before he had time to really assess the situation, but his clones parried all her and her clones attacks successfully and bought him a little bit of time. Before he reacted a smile spread on his face. This girl presented a good challenge, he wasn't about to start backing down now. As his clones occupied Hirai Naruto formed a few more seals and summoned a weapons scroll. He was reaching for a katana when he thought better of it. He wasn't about to easy on her. He instead picked up two short bo's. Each one about thirty inches in length and made of a sturdy metal. With the two bo's in hand he let the clone's disappear. In a flash he was in front of a Hirai clone, he saw the expression of surprise on her face right before he acted. He swung the bo forward and anticipating that she would move to block it pressed a button. The bo separated forming nunchakus. Hirai was only able to catch the bottom part with her block the other half went right over her kodachi and swung down striking her right above her forehead. There was a sickening thud as the metal connected to her skull and the reaction was almost immediate as Hirai let out a yell of pain and jumped back several yards stumbling and falling as she reached for her forehead with her hands. Naruto realized his error quickly, he thought she was the clone at first, that's why he hit so hard, but upon this realization he reacted with blinding speed to the clone that had launched itself at him. Naruto avoided the first attack and before the clone could reposition itself Naruto had already struck twice without mercy. There was only the look of shock on the clones face before it exploded into sand and fell harmlessly to the ground. Naruto walked past it and towards Hirai who was still on her knees. The pain Hirai felt was unreal. The impact had exploded into her system and made her feel like he had hit her with more than nunchakus. Her head was throbbing and her eyes were watering. However that was all erased as Naruto spoke and her anger began to rise. "You don't gotta cry Hirai. I didn't mean to hit you so hard." Then he stopped and laughed. (Inner Hirai was simply burning up inside. 'how dare that baka laugh as if it were something funny!!) Naruto kept going not knowing what was going on in her head. "We could stop if you want." He said in a gentle tone. This infuriated Hirai to no end, but he suddenly exploded at her and she had no reaction for a second. "OR YOU COULD STOP BEING HALF ASS ABOUT IT!!!! You scared or something, you wanna spar, don't be scared of using your blood limit!" an evil smile spread on his face. "The future Hokage of Konoha can handle it." He said in an evil and smooth voice. Hirai was stunned for a few second, however Temari's words remained with her. 'Don't use your limit' she had said. Hirai slowly got up a quiet intensity filling her. Naruto could see she was finally serious.

Hirai responded with a seething rage. "I don't need my limit to beat you." Suddenly she flickered and was about fifty yards away from him. Even from that distance Naruto saw that she had done something with the kodachi's. She held her arms to either side and flickered again this time she was fifteen yards away and the scene had totally changed. Naruto had seen all her movement with his trained eyes. Her kodachis had opened transforming into fans. It was something Naruto hadn't expected as the fans had a very thin paper between the blades which had opened up. However Naruto didn't have time to admire them as he knew what was coming and flickered back himself. Forming his wind summoning seals as he did so. Hirai swung her fans together in a blinding motion and yelled "WHIRLWIND ATTACK!" A huge gust of wind erupted from the fans and in a tornado like shape flew towards Naruto. However Naruto had also used his blinding speed to perform his seals and his chest was puffed out. He finished the seal and exhaled forcefully. The amount of wind that escaped his lungs was inhuman. Temari's eyes widened as she saw what was transpiring. She had taught that technique to Hirai and it had also served her well, but never did she expect that anybody would be able to do a wind summoning strong enough to counter it. Was it possible to have such an affinity with the wind or was Naruto that strong now. Either way she no longer had time to think as the whirlwind attack was undone by Naruto's wind blast.

Temari started as a voice spoke next to her. "I picked a worthy rival." She turned to see Rock Lee standing there for a fraction of a second and then he too had disappeared. Naruto didn't let up, before the whirlwind had completely died down he sprinted towards Hirai with ungodly speed. Hirai thought he had flickered, but regardless the next second Naruto's fist stopped an inch from her face and standing in front of her was Naruto with his outstretched fist, Hirai felt a breeze on her face. Next to Naruto stood the weird looking guy in the green suit. Lee had his hand around Naruto's wrist.

The implications of what Hirai saw happen didn't take long to sink in. She quickly realized with growing rage that she had been helped by another of the Konoha shinobi. He had helped her from suffering a crushing loss to one of his own. The rage was being fueled by shame. Temari's words of not using her blood limit were quickly being forgotten. Anger seeped through her veins as she felt pitied. She could feel herself tremble with fury. She stopped thinking as her only desire became to erase the feeling she felt. She would do that by erasing the ones that had caused those feelings. "Nnngghhh." She seemed to try to keep her emotions in check before it was too late.

Naruto looked at Lee questioningly as they stood there. He had not intended to actually hit her, however he was nonetheless impressed with Lee's speed. Lee grinned back at his comrade and was about to comment when they heard Hirai make some sort of small noise. They both turned to look at the young kunoichi and their eye's saw every detail. They saw the trickle of blood running down the blade of her kodachis' which had returned to blade from and even caught the slight trembles running through her body. Naruto began to ask what was wrong. "Hi..." He stopped as she began lifting her head and he saw that her pupils had disappeared and shining golden orbs stared back at him and Lee. A look of intense hate now had settled on her features and Naruto felt a chill as she stared at him. Her right hand swung forward with incredible speed making him and Lee jump back. Not knowing anything about Hirai's blood limit neither of them were ready for what happened next. The kodachi was glowing as she held it in front of her. That was all Naruto could see as suddenly the blade of the kodachi split. It had a fan-like effect as from one blade sprung ten. It seemed like an optical illusion as Naruto watched and began backing away. Lee did the same thing. The blades continued to separate and without warning exploded towards them. Several aiming toward Lee as well as Naruto. Lee quickly began jumping back. Each step he took raising his feet to unceremoniously take off his leg weights. The first one dropped where he had been just a fraction of a second ago and was almost instantly pierced and cut through as the blades followed him. The growth of the blades picked up speed as they followed him. Lee found himself quickly on the defensive as he was dodging multiple blades that kept coming. Naruto found himself in the same predicament. He was able to take of his arm weights, but the velocity of the blades didn't allow him any maneuvering room to get the leg weights off. He was not as fast as Lee, but he countered the oncoming barrage of blades. He quickly gathered his chakra and formed a rasengan in one hand. He thrust it at the blades, on contact the blades twisted and spiraled. However there were too many blades coming at him. He would not be able to keep up with his rasengan. He called up on more chakra and formed another rasengan in his other hand. He used both rasengan to begin twisting the blades. However he was still purely on the defensive as the multiple blades kept coming and he was quickly trying to think of something to stop this nightmare.

Temari and Neji had both seen the situation developing and rushed forward to help. However Hirai seemed to have sensed this and with her other kodachi pointed at the ground stopped them. The kodachi's blade exploded in width and length as it plunged itself into the ground. Temari saw this and jumped back into Neji making him fall backwards. He was taken by surprise and yelled. "WHAT THE." He was going to yell 'hell are you doing?!' However that question was cut short as enormous blades exploded out of the sand where they were just going. The blades kept erupting forming a huge wall of blades preventing them from helping them. Neji was awestruck. He was actually terrified. The girls intentions were clear from what he saw before the wall blocked their view. She planned to run them through and pin them against the wall. The suddenness of the attack had taken everyone by surprise. This realization didn't help him any. He scrambled to his feet as quickly as possible yelling as he did so. "DAMN!!" This was uncharacteristic of Neji, but he had never been in such a hopeless situation and the thought of loosing two people very important to him clouded his analytical skills. Temari was also scrambling to her feet fearing the worst. How she wished Gaara was here right now.

Almost as if in answer to Temari's words two words erupted in the training hall. "FUUTON RENKUUDAN!!" (compressed air ball) Nobody had noticed Gaara step into the room as they were all pre-occupied with the events in front of them. Neji tunned to see an immense ball of compressed air fly by him. He immediately turned on his byakugaan and his eyes widened in shock as he saw two other air balls follow the first one. He was awestruck at the insane amount of chakra molded into each one. The first one struck the wall of blades causing a huge explosion as it created a hole through which the other two flew through. The force of the explosion sent Neji and Temari sliding back in the sand. However Gaara's attack didn't end there as a huge wave of sand rose from behind them and swallowed up the blades. Through all the action neither Temari or Neji saw Gaara shoot through the hole to the other side.

Hirai was totally unaware of the situation as she heard and felt her wall of blades being destroyed. She began turning towards the commotion when suddenly she felt an explosion of pain through her hand and arms. She did not see what had caused this, but it was enough force to make her start spinning. The second air ball struck the ground where her blade had plunged itself and exploded. The force from this explosion sent her literally flying into the air. As she left the ground another emotion seeped into her rage. Fear. Nobody should have been able to break through her limit like that. She knew exactly who it was though as the sand wrapped her up and began to press against her. She had seen this technique used many times, but never in her wildest dreams thought she would be on the receiving end. Her fear began growing even more as her rage died away. Her mind returned to days past when she would watch Gaara training in this very room. She remembered him telling her about this technique as he used it on solid still barrels. He did this in such a relaxed manner it was always hard for her to believe his words. "This is a killing technique, Hirai. Imagine the scrapes you receive when you fall on the sand. The way the sand peels your skin off slightly. This technique works on the same principle except that with about a thousand times the pressure." As he said this he opened his hand and she saw the sand swallow up the barrels. He then closed his hand and the sand dispersed the barrel had disappeared. She could never imagine Gaara using it on another human being and now that she was in it's grasp she felt fear. She looked up and there right in front of her face stood Gaara on his face he wore no expression, Hirai could not read him at all and her blood froze in her veins. He was indifferent to her life, she thought she was gonna die and the worst part was that she realized she probably deserved it. She hung her head and waited for darkness to take her body trembling. What she didn't expect was for Gaara to speak to her with such a sad voice. "Gomen, Hirai. I should have been here sooner, I should have paid more attention to you. I should have made sure you didn't face Naruto. Gomen." The sorrow and honesty in Gaara's voice made Hirai want to cry. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault that she made the mistake, but it was to late. The sand fell away from her and he was walking away. His back to her he called on the sand and enveloped all of her blades. He had his hand in front of him held open and then he closed it. The sand all fell away and there was no sign of the blades. He kept walking away from her and making his way towards Naruto.

Naruto meanwhile was on the other side of the blades. When the blades stopped his momentum took him a few steps back as he slammed into the wall. He was breathing hard, but the blades had stopped and relief washed over him. He slid down the wall to a sitting position wondering what the hell had just happened. He had almost lost his life and he had for the first time in his life felt a slight strain as he used his chakra. The question of how much he took the fox's power for granted crossed his mind briefly. However he remembered Lee and snapped his head in his direction. He saw Lee was on one knee looking back at him. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and gave Lee a thumbs up which Lee weakly returned. Naruto relaxed and lay his head against the wall. He said to himself. "That was intense!" He didn't fully relax nerves on end in case the attack resumed, but he kept breathing trying to calm himself somewhat. He quickly jumped to his feet as he noticed a motion in front of him. The sand came up covering up the blades. Lee had also jumped to his feet. Suddenly everything in front of them fell harmlessly back to the ground. Walking towards them was Gaara. They both relaxed a little bit still remaining alert. He came up near Naruto and spoke. "Hello... Naruto."

**PREVIEW**

How is team 8 doing. Are they getting closer to their goal? What is their true goal?

**RSO'S**

Dobe-teme- Thanx, I haven't explored how Konoha feels about the whole Uchiha situation, but I feel there's alot who feel like you, but at the same time most of them don't really know about the Hyugaas level of skill with this as they really don't focus on it.

dragonman180- I thought about using water as well, but it didn't mesh well with lightning so I opted to not too. I'm not trying to go by the filler's so that wasn't really an influence, but I did consider water. I hope I didn't dissappoint. If I did this won't be the last time they fight.

raikiri1991- thanx, they're still around. Just haven't had time to put them in, but you should see them in the future again.

shadowneji- thanx, I haven't thought about that yet. As how she's nowhere near reaching her ceiling in her current level, but once she get's better I'll give it more thought.

asianwriter- anytime.

zerofaith- I am so sorry. Man talk about feeling bad. J/K. I got plenty of ideas, just lacking in the speed department.

raikiri91- No way, Jiraiya can live up to my aspirations... what he can.

tobmaster- Thank you. I feel it's about to start picking up speed, if only I could say the same about my updates. Sorry.

warprince- thanx, done.

causeiambetta- Thanx, Naruto still might pester Neji. You never know. I don't think Naruto is to big on the why factor though, so who knows. All he need's to know is that he owes her. Two words for your two words. No way. I feel I gotta be original, I'm not gonna take the chidori and give it to Hinata. I feel she's deserving of developing her own thing. Yeah, you're right Naruto won't show off yet. Sorry.

narashikamaru- Thank you. However you know what they say, the best training is to actually put it to use in a real situation. Thanx, I feel like I'm accomplishing those things, but now I find they are really eating away at my doing nothing time. J/K. Good luck with the job. Again thank you.

danny- Thank you. Man it's so refreshing to know someone can visualize what I'm trying to get accross. About the outcome was it what you expected? Or did you expect the unexpected? lol. Oh, Oh, Oh. I got to that part. Sort of. Lol.

crazygirlofmanynames- thanx.

jeefus- I'm glad you liked where I ended. Hope you like this chapter's ending too. Lol. I can be so cruel sometimes. J/K. Well, I hope you're not dissappointed in the outcome, and for legal purposes I in no way shape or form took any of your ideas. They were mine first so raspberries to you. lol J/K. Actually I rather liked you're long review. It was real fun to read.

sirus- thanx. P.S. sorry, I kinda had hoped that was implied, but hopefully people will read your review and make the connection. Thanx for saving me time. Woohoo the benefit of smart people know no bounds.

sipherous- wow, that's a long time. Thanx, I'll try to live up to the expectations.

vld- awesome, good catch. Alot of people just don't realize the potential Hirai has. You are the MAN, for catching that... unless your a girl in which case your not the man, but still awesome.

naruxhinafreak- Yeah, it is troubling, but it also opens up alot of possibilities. Thanx, I'm glad you like it. Oh do cliffhangers really distract you. That's so crazy that sounds exactly like...

kikyo4ever- sorry, bout the long wait, but it will be worth it. I hope.

nicademus- not a problem. Soon, I'm really gonna try to push the story along faster and trim down on anything that might not be necessary to the story. thanx.


	43. Chapter 43

It's strange that after so long the reason I come back is because of a review. Alot has changed in my life and I thought maybe the story wouldn't be missed. It's strange I wonder if I would have began typing again if somebody hadn't asked me to come back. To those that have been waiting for this, I'm sorry it took so long, hopefully my skills haven't fallen off. I guess that's all I can say for now, so hopefully everyone will enjoy the chapter.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**ENTERING THE DEMON'S DOMAIN**

Gaara held out his hand to Naruto. Naruto got over his surprise quickly and reached out to shake Gaara's hand. "Hey Gaara. Long time no see. How've you been?" Naruto said as his way of greeting. A smile spreading on his face. As their hands met a small smile also appeared on Gaara's face.

"Hai Naruto. It has been a long time." They unclasped hands and Gaara turned towards an approaching Lee. He extended his hand and greeted Lee as well. "Hello Lee. It has been awhile since I've seen you as well." Gaara said as he shook a smiling Lee's hand. "I hope everything is well with you." He paused there waiting for Lee's response.

Lee responded respectfully. "Hai, Gaara-domo everything is going wonderful. I am glad to see you up and about. It lightens my heart to see we were successful." Lee said as he pulled his hand out Gaara's hand.

Gaara took a deep breath before he said. "Hai, arigatou. I... we of the sand owe you and your village our gratitude. Your aid will not be forgotten. We will have a meeting later and I can speak with all those involved. I hope that is acceptable." He finished. He looked at Lee who nodded his head in the affirmative.

"Hai, Gaara that is very acceptable." Lee said. Neji had approached them as Temari had gone to tend to Hirai. Gaara turned his attention to the approaching Neji and awaited his answer. He had spoken loudly enough that Neji was aware of the situation.

"That is very acceptable Gaara-dono. We are after all now your guest's." Neji smiled as he said this last part holding out his hand to greet Gaara. "It is good to see you have regained your strength in it's full capacity." Neji said. This last he spoke once again remembering the incredible displays of power he had just witnessed. He asked that question wondering if Gaara would give a hint of how much of his actual power he had used.

Gaara however had other things on his mind. "Hai, arigatou Neji. Please excuse me however as there are other matters I wish to take care of." He turned towards Naruto who had been standing there observing the conversation while deep in thought. "Naruto, would you mind accompanying me? There is much I wish to discuss with you."

Naruto came out of his reverie and looked at his old friend with curiosity. He didn't press for any information. Instead he simply nodded his head. Gaara then turned to lead the way, Naruto began to follow. They were almost to the exit and Naruto was once again deep in thought when a voice broke into his thoughts. "Naruto!" A female voice boomed. Naruto turned to find the voice and saw Hirai standing next to Temari. As soon as his eyes found her she lowered her head and said. "G-gomen Naruto-san." She looked up unsure of herself to see a smiling Naruto looking back at her.

Naruto didn't need her to ask for forgiveness. He appreciated the gesture nevertheless. "Don't worry about it Hirai." He raised his hand and waved it once as he turned around to leave and follow Gaara. He quickly caught up to Gaara. As they walked together now Naruto commented. "Hirai looks like she will become a good shinobi."

Gaara stopped and looked at Naruto seriously. "Do you really think so?" He asked.

Naruto taken by surprise hesitated as he answered. "W-well, I don't know her that well, but I dunno. I can feel it. I just feel that she can be a great shinobi. It's the same feeling I felt when I fought you, I don't know what she's been through, but I feel she'll come out better for it." Naruto said. He felt like he was about to start rambling not sure if he was making any sense when Gaara saved him.

Gaara had not known this about Naruto. To Gaara Naruto was still an enigma. Even now in just a few words he had more pieces to the puzzle. What did Naruto see or know that he saw the good in him when they fought. He didn't know if the answer would do any good so instead he asked. "Is that true? Was your feeling about me... true?" Gaara had often wondered what Naruto thought of him. However Gaara was not good with those kind of subjects and this was as close as he would ever get. He waited with his heart in his throat to hear the answer of the person that was a turning point in his life.

"Hai, Gaara that feeling holds true. You've become a great ninja, you've become something which I also want to become." Naruto was referring to the fact that Gaara was now Kage. Gaara felt a strange sensation within himself that he had never felt before. Gaara had been praised before, many times, but nobody had ever earned his respect the way Naruto had. To receive praise from him was a new experience for Gaara. None of this reached his face. Naruto had no idea what effect his words had on Gaara. All he saw was the tiniest of nods from Gaara before he continued forward. In that manner they made their way to the Kage's chambers.

/\//\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Back in the forest Jiraiya and the others had made their lunch after finishing another leg of their journey and were finishing up their lunch. Jiraiya looked at his team and thought it was time to take a break and let them practice. "So I'll just give Kiba directions to our next meeting place. Then you guys will be free to train. I'm going to rest and I'll get everyone together before we begin our next leg. Any questions?" He asked looking from face to face. Nobody responded so he got up and proceeded to wave Kiba towards him. He said. "You two are free to go do what you guys want." He told Shino and Hinata. They both nodded as he turned to speak with Kiba. He began giving him specific directions, he saw Kiba was finally starting to listen carefully and smiled at that. He could finally relax a little bit. He finished his explanation quickly and dismissed Kiba. He then found himself alone once everyone had gone about their business and he set up a nice place so he could take a nap. Even though he had not shown it the amount of chakra he was using on this journey was great and he needed some rest. He felt he needed to be prepared for whatever awaited them.

Hinata had decided to follow Kiba for her practice. She had thought about following Shino, but he was only practicing basic jutsu's and Hinata thought that wouldn't be effective for her training. Kiba however might be a different story. She turned on her blood limit and found everyone easily enough. She felt strange doing this, she had never spied on her friends before. There was only one person she spied on of her own volition. Nevertheless she felt a sense of exhilaration flowing through her at this new training method. The ethics of this method crossed her mind briefly, but she reasoned the benefits would outweigh the drawbacks. She found Kiba and Akamaru quickly enough however and moved closer to them. She turned her limit off as she knew the direction she was headed in. Once near enough she turned her limit back on and began watching. She concentrated on reading Kiba's lips first to see if they were in fact going to try out any jutsus.

Kiba was completely unaware of Hinata and was just going about his business. He looked at Akamaru and smiled. "Guess what, I have a new jutsu down." He laughed a little bit and then corrected himself. "I think I have it down, but I'm gonna nail it right now. Then I'll make it my own and both of us will be unstoppable! Okay, I'll just get it down real quick and then we can be on our way." He said. He jumped at Akamaru and ruffled his fur and then pressed his forehead against Akamaru's. Kiba pulled away and took a deep breath. Akamaru let out a bark of encouragement, always happy to see his partner improving. Neither were aware that Hinata was watching.

From her hiding spot Hinata felt a pang of envy. She knew Kiba and Akamaru were close and she was glad they were, she couldn't picture one without the other. The reason she felt this pang was because it reminded her that she didn't have anyone like that in her life. She longed for that and always wondered if that day would ever come for her. She watched them and said softly to herself. "Its okay, I just have to be strong." She then took a deep breath of her own as this was what Kiba was doing. She saw Kiba performing his jutsu and copied it perfectly. She felt her sense of accomplishment growing with each passing seal. A small smile was now on her face. Before she realized it the jutsu had been finished. She looked at a celebrating Kiba who's unruly hair was longer and crazier than ever. The slow realization of what the jutsu was dawned on her as she absently went to push back a strand of hair. She felt the stiffness of her hair and saw that she was not just like Kiba, but that her hair because of it's length was even crazier than Kiba's going in every way imaginable. The embarrassment of what she had done finally hit her. Kiba let out an excited yell of triumph as Hinata lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Neither of them ever noticed their friend hidden away now lying unconscious. They went on their way.

A few minutes later Hinata came around. Her first action was to reach for her hair and make sure it was back to normal. She sat up and assessed the situation. She pulled her knees in towards her body and lay her elbows on them and sat in that position for a while with her hands clasped in front of her. She made a promise to herself right there. She was never ever going to do this type of training with Kiba. It took her a while to get over the shock of the jutsu. She had no idea why Kiba would want to use that jutsu. After a while she got up and went looking for Shino and Jiraiya. She found them readily enough and then they gathered their things and prepared to leave. As they were getting ready Shino approached her and asked, "Did something happen Hinata? You seem preoccupied." Hinata was caught off guard a little bit by this question. She shook her head and got up on the frog.

She looked at Shino and said. "It's nothing... really. Please don't worry Shino, I'm fine now." She said. Shino couldn't help but notice the last word she said. It totally threw him off because how could he stop worrying about her when there was something that had bothered her. He didn't want anything to disrupt their camaraderie. They then began their trek to the next point on their journey.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Back in the village of sand Naruto and Gaara were now seated in the sand Kage's office. They had exchanged stories of things that transpired since the last time they met. Naruto's journeys and Gaaras experience as Kage. Gaara now leaned forward on the desk and asked Naruto a question which he had wanted to know since the last time they met. He looked at Naruto with a serious look on his face and asked. "Is it true that the Kyubii resides within you?" Gaara had heard this from others, but he wanted this confirmed.

Naruto hadn't expected that question. He thought about it a moment and decided there was no reason to hide anything. "Hai, it is the nine tails." He then decided to ask Gaara the same thing, "Yours is the one tail, right?" He asked.

Gaara leaned back in his chair when he heard Naruto's response. The implications of this revelation sinking in completely for Gaara. He didn't know if Naruto knew everything he should know, but he decided to inform him of everything he knew. Beginning by answering Naruto's question. "Hai, Naruto, my monster is Shukaku. Do you know the stories of the tailed beasts?" Naruto had never really thought about the history of the Kyubii, much less the others and shook his head. Gaara then began his narative of the Bijus as he knew them. "Many of the beasts have interwoven stories. Shukaku was not always Shukaku and had it not been for the eight tails, Yamato, it would not be. Shukaku was originally a priest of the desert, however he was near a great battle involving Yamato. During this battle Yamato received a great boost of power and a great surge of dark chakra was released, this evil energy consumed and transformed the priest giving birth to the one tail. The ones that died in the battle also fed his power. The dark chakra transformed him into a raccoon and the violent wind and energy of the dead gave him the tattoos which you saw. I guess you could say my Bijuu is a bastard Bijuu when compared to all the others. In the order of the tailed beasts I possess the weakest naturally, but it has gained power over the centuries and it may be stronger than others now. Maybe nowhere near the level of your monster, but it is enough for me." He noticed Naruto's look of interest and curiosity. "What is it?" he asked.

Naruto quickly asked. "How do you know all this?"

Gaara was a little surprised by this question, but answered readily enough. "Shukaku told me."

Naruto's curiosity was already high, but now it was through the roof. "He told you all this? Why?! How can you trust it?" Naruto had thought Gaara had done research or come by the information in some other method, but this was a shock. He couldn't imagine the Bijuus as anything other than monsters.

Gaara, had felt similarly most of his life. So he could understand where Naruto was coming from. He thought about how best to explain it. He hadn't told anybody else what he was now about to tell Naruto, so his answer began. "What I am about to tell you I ask that it doesn't leave this room... ever. Can you grant me this Naruto?" Gaara asked.

Naruto got his emotions in check. From Gaara's tone Naruto could tell he wanted to confide something important. He wasn't about to betray Gaara's trust so he said, "Hai, Gaara, you have my word." as he nodded.

Gaara took a deep breath as he began to speak again. "Naruto, it's easy for everyone else to see the Bijuu's as only monsters. However for me and I believe in your case as well, we should develop a better understanding of them. After all they live within us and we share our bodies with them. I don't know your relationship with Kyubii so I can only speak from my experience." Gaara paused, not knowing how Naruto would react he decided to plunge ahead. "You know of my insomnia and the cause for it were due to Shukaku. I-I didn't know how much longer I could keep going with the condition, I felt my sanity was disappearing. I went to Shukaku to search for a resolution. We spoke back and forth until finally we struck a deal." Gaara took another pause and saw Naruto was deep in thought. He kept going. "We each live up to our ends and make it work so it's beneficial to both sides. I hope you don't hold it against me, but it was something I felt was necessary." Gaara sank back into his chair wondering how Naruto would react.

Naruto looked at Gaara for a minute, the meeting with Kyubii at the very front of his thoughts. How could he hold anything against Gaara when he himself was about to possibly enter the same kind of situation. Even though he wasn't sure if he wanted to know he leaned forward and said. "I get what you're saying. I have some questions though." He saw Gaara relaxed somewhat and asked. "What were the terms of the deal?" He now saw Gaara stiffen up once again.

Gaara, usually so thorough in his thoughts for some reason had not anticipated this question. He was not ready to divulge the information Naruto was requesting. "Gomen, Naruto. I'm afraid I can't say at this time." Gaara said.

There was a long pause as Naruto decided on his next question. "That's no problem. I have another question. Do you know much about the nine-tails?"He asked.

Gaara had thought much about it as well and had gone as far as questioning Shukaku on this subject and went on to tell Naruto what he had learned. "Even in Shukaku's youth the stories of the nine-tails were ancient. However Shukaku did fight the nine tails before and lost. He said the Kyubii let him live and simply walked away after the fight. He made the comment that when he fought you last time he knew immediately that it was not the real ninetails. He did not go into specifics, but he said that of all the opponents he has ever faced the Kybii is the only one which has made him wish for death." Gaara said this last and fell silent for a moment, even he had a hard time fathoming that any creature could do that to Shukaku, yet it had been Shukaku who had admitted this and there was no deceit in the Bijuu's voice when he said that. All humor all hints of joking left his voice when he said that. "That is what I learned from Shukaku about the Kyubii. I don't know how you deal with the demon-fox, but he is the best source of information you would seek about him." Naruto seemed like he now really wanted to talk, but Gaara had other responsibilities he had to adhere to as Kage. "Gomen, Naruto. I wish to continue this conversation, but there are other matters which I must attend to first." He got up while saying this and walked with Naruto to the door. Naruto didn't really speak at all as he was trying to digest what Gaara had told him. At the door Gaara asked one of the guards to be Naruto's guide. "I would like to talk more later, I'll do my best to clear up my time. Perhaps tonight." Gaara said. Naruto nodded absently and followed the guard for a little bit.

Naruto found himself in his chambers alone nearly an hour later. The desire to know more about the Kyubii now growing more intense within him. Through all his travels he had always heard legends and myths about the Kyubii. Never had he heard anything from anyone that had actually encountered him. Outside of it being a monster and it's immense power. Naruto now sat there realizing that he knew nothing about the entity that he shared his body with. The longer he sat there the more convinced he became that he needed to know something about the demon fox. "That's it I'm gonna go for it!" He exclaimed as he decided to once again stand in front of the Fox's chambers. He relaxed his breathing and cleared his mind as he prepared to go back within his mind. He accomplished this readily enough.

He now found himself in front of the huge bars. Now that he was there he felt trepidation for the first time, he wanted to learn about the Kyubbi, but he hadn't thought about how he would go about it. He was about to leave when a gust of hot wind blew out from behind the bars and the Kyubii's voice bellowed. **"WHAT DO YOU WANT BOY? ARE YOU PREPARED TO FULLFILL THE CONTRACT WITH ME ALREADY."** The fox stopped right before the bars and inhaled a deep breath, after which he lowered his head and gazed at Naruto. He kept Naruto from leaving with his stare. **"YOU'RE NOT SURE OF YOURSELF BRAT!" **suddenly there was an eruption of laughter from the fox. What was this small boy doing here, so lost and unprepared. The fox laughed at it's situation, having to lower itself to the point of negotiating with this insignificant child.

Naruto's anger flared at the fox's laughter. "SHUT THE HELL UP YOU DAMN FOX! I'm here for a reason!" Naruto yelled.

The foxes gaze shifted and turned all it's focus onto the boy. In a low rumbling voice that seemed to penetrate the walls it asked. **"WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE BOY? WHY DO YOU STAND BEFORE ME?"**

**PREVIEW**

Naruto now stands before the demon fox. What will happen?

**RSO'S**

Dragonman180- Yeah, she can be. I wouldn't wanna fight her either. Then again I'm pretty peaceful.

lavender eyed girl- Thanx, it would be embarassing to get my ass kicked by a girl. So it's a good thing I didn't give her the chidori. lol. Oh, I have an idea for how I'm going to make Hinata better. Hopefully it won't get my ass kicked. J/K.

vld- Ah, but you see in the big picture it can be overlooked. Plus you cheated because it was still fresh in your mind. J/K, dude whatever praise you get you deserve, don't argue with me. I don't want to turn my massive intellect loose on you. Lol, J/K my intellect isn't that massive.

elissawolf- I'm glad you like it. sorry it took so long.

mikouzumaki- lol, I have no idea how to reply to everything you said.

micellaneous-soldier- thanx

drkchidragon- you sure, because I don't think it is, bu if anybody backs you up, I'll go back and change it. We'll see how the deal works out.

Danny- Yeah, she can be vicious. I was going to go into detail about her blood-limit later, but since you asked here's a brief explanation. Her blood limit combines the Earth element with the Lightning element. There are many types of elements in the earth element, like clay. Hirai's deals with metals, whatever metal she comes in contact with she can manipulate with the heat she creates from the lightning, as you guessed I haven't touched on all her skills which will, I think, be rather impressive. Was that a spoiler, I think not, because you don't know what all she can do yet. She does have a limit however and there was a reason she plunged her kodachi's into the sand. Anyways enough about that for now. Yeah, it was because of that 'or do we' comment you made that I umm wrote it like that. Umm.. I can't say about Gaara... yet. You'll have to decide when we get there. lol. Oh, Shiki is Temari's pet name for Shikamaru. Thanx for the review as always.

causeiambetta- thanx, glad you liked it. Being original is what it's all about don't cha know.

warprince- thanx, sorry for such a long wait.

crazygirlofmanynames- Yupyup, but is that a good thing? lol.

nicademus- Yeah, you'd be surprised how much influence feedback has on the story. BTW very accurate presumption. I'll try.

hint- I hope you're still alive. Wow, that cliffhanger was a long time coming huh, and now I left you with another one. lol. You never know the rating might or might not change, depends on what everyone else says.

narashikamaru21- thanx, oh, you're the bad influence that made me take so long. I wondered where the procrastination came from. Yup, I blame you and so should everyone else. J/K. Good for you, don't get too distracted though, keep your eyes on the goals... and my story. Man, dude, girls are like drugs, once you get a taste you need it to keep coming and then your hooked, you're like I don't need her, but whenever they're around you loose all your will. Then when your away from them it's like a painful withdrawal and it almost kills you not being with one. Girls, they're becoming the great enigmas of my life... what was I talking about. Oh, good luck with getting a girl.

icedprincess- Thanx, now if only I could get you to write for me. J/K.

crakbaby- Thank you for not forgetting me. Your short review really moved me.


	44. Chapter 44

Here's the newest chapter. Sorry, bout the delay, even though I have most of the events planned out for a while, I had trouble coming up with how I wanted the new characters designed. Anyways hope everyone likes it.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**I'M GONNA GET HIM.**

Naruto stood there looking at the giant fox. He felt the intense scrutiny of the fox so keenly he could have sworn it was something physical. However he was not about to back down. He gathered his thoughts as quickly as he could and asked his question. "Where did you come from?! What's your story!" He asked loudly. His body was extremely tense now from the scrutiny and he almost fell back as the words came out of his mouth. The fox's scrutiny had vanished in a flash.

Even though the fox lived within Naruto he could not always decipher Naruto's exact thoughts. Naruto's presence in front of him peaked his curiosity and he so wanted to know what the boy was thinking, but the question he posed. It was the least expected thing. Kyubii was totally taken aback by this question. It had been ages, centuries perhaps, since the last time anybody had asked to know something about him. The fox hadn't expected this, but the question moved him. He fell into a thoughtful stage and thought about it. Naruto was shocked by the change he saw in front of him. The fox always so full of rage and contempt was no longer the one sitting in front of him. This fox in front of him was not smiling an evil smile or looking at him with contempt, for the first time his fangs were not bared at him and the fox's red eyes looked off into the distance as if searching for something. Naruto felt as if the fox was no longer aware of him and as Naruto stood there his mind was in awe. The fox once again turned it's attention towards Naruto and looked at him for a while before replying. What Naruto saw in the fox's eyes at that moment made him miss the enraged Kyubii he had grown accustomed to. In the fox's eyes he saw sorrow deeper than any ocean he could ever imagine and intelligence no Kage could ever hope to match. Naruto felt overwhelmed, he didn't think he could take that stare for much longer. Thankfully he didn't have to as the Kyubii once again spoke. This time the growl was missing only a deep clear voice spoke to him this time. **"THERE IS NO STORY, BOY. I DO NOT KNOW WHERE I COME FROM. ONLY WHERE I'VE BEEN." **The fox said. He began to get up as if he was leaving.

Naruto however wasn't satisfied. "I don't believe you how can't you know? Shukaku knew his story, how can you not know yours?!" Naruto said. Naruto's view of the fox had changed in the past few moments and now he had to have some knowledge about this being that he shared his body with. A point he didn't hesitate in conveying. "You live in my body, I have a right to know something about who I'm living with." Naruto said. For some reason he felt it was somewhat underhanded this last comment, but he knew it was for a bigger purpose.

"**FOOL." **came back the reply with the growl. However the Kyubii's next words were in the same clear deep voice once again. **"TO ASK ME SUCH A FOOLISH QUESTION. YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL YOU RECEIVED A REPLY AT ALL. DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR BIRTH? OF COURSE NOT, YOU ARE LIKE ME ONLY KNOWING WHERE YOU'VE BEEN. WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?"** This last remark was directed at Naruto. The fox waited a few moments daring Naruto to say something and when nothing was forthcoming he continued. **"YOU WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT ME? I WILL TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT ME. IN ALL THE WORLD I AM THE ONLY ONE OF ME, THERE WAS NOBODY AROUND TO TEACH ME ABOUT MYSELF OR WHAT I CAN DO. WHEN I WAS A PUP YOUR LANDS HAD NO NAMES. MY STORY, BOY, IS NOT ONE YOU CAN FATHOM." **The Kyubii felt weary for some reason. Looking back at his life even briefly could overwhelm even him who had lived through it all. He felt like getting some sleep now. He was about to move when the simple minded boy began to speak again.

Naruto was not satisfied, not only was he unsatisfied. He was also pissed that the fox basically called him a fool. Naruto yelled at the fox. "I'm not a fool, Fox!"

The Kyubii had to admit that the boy was entertaining. The boy's comment registered immediately and howling laughter erupted from his lips. To Naruto this laughter was deafening, he shouted to the fox to shut-up, but was drowned out by the seemingly maniacal laughter. Naruto covered his ears in the hope of drowning out the noise. The laughter was not long in ending and when it did the Kyubii quickly lowered it's head to Naruto's level and looked at him with intense focus through the bars. He spoke in a lower voice now the roughness of it's voice returning in full. **"THEN ENLIGHTEN ME WITH YOUR WISDOM." **Naruto was caught by surprise, he didn't have a good way to respond. Even though he knew he wasn't a fool he knew he wasn't wise and being put on the spot he couldn't think of anything to say. The fox smiled an evil smile. **"NO DEEP EPIPHANIES TO SHARE? NO WISDOM TO IMPART UPON ME? IF YOU AREN'T ONE THING, YOU ARE IT'S OPPOSITE, YOU ARE NOT WISE SO THAT MAKES YOU A FOOL." **The fox knew it's goading was uncalled for, but it was bored and since Naruto was presenting the opportunity the fox decided not to turn it down.

Naruto didn't want to listen to the fox anymore. "Shut-up you don't know me, you don't know how much work I've put in to be where I'm at!" Naruto wanted to tell the fox that it was all the fox's fault his life had been so hard, but the emotions welling up inside of him didn't let him voice the last thoughts. He felt his body was tense.

The fox sensed it may have overstepped it's boundaries. Even though most of the time it wouldn't care it saw the benefit of diplomacy here. It let out a sigh and spoke again. He was not used to trying to comfort someone so his words came out more slowly. **"DILIGENSE AND WISDOM ARE TWO SEPARATE THING. YOUR ABILITY TO GRASP SUBTLETIES OF SITUATIONS LEAVES TOO MUCH TO BE DESIRED. YOU MENTIONED SHUKAKU EARLIER. WHY WAS THAT? DO YOU BELIEVE OUR CONTRACTS WILL BE ANYTHING ALIKE? YOU SHOULD HAVE NOTICED DIFFERENCES IN YOURS AND SHUKAKU'S VESSELS SITUATION. YET FROM THAT PERPLEXED LOOK ON YOUR FACE YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M REFERRING TO." **The Kyubii read Naruto's expression perfectly. **"THE ONE TAIL IS NOT A TRUE TAILED BEAST. IT'S NOT TIME FOR OUR CONTRACT TO BE MADE, HOWEVER WE CAN MAKE AN INFORMAL CONTRACT RIGHT NOW. ARE YOU INTERESTED?" **The fox asked.

Naruto in his eagerness to prove he wasn't a fool jumped at the chance to prove he wasn't going to be taken advantage of. "What are the terms?!" he demanded loudly.

The fox let out a long sigh, had he really become so bored that he would stoop to this level to pass the time. The answer was yes. **"THERE IS ONLY ONE THING FOR WHICH I AM WILLING TO MAKE A DEAL FOR, COME WITH WISDOM OF THIS WHEN WE MAKE OUR CONTRACT AND I WILL NEVER CALL YOU A FOOL AGAIN. DOES THAT SOUND FAIR?" **The fox inquired.

Naruto thought this over long and hard. Even though he didn't know how he was supposed to accomplish it, he knew he would not fail. "Hai, that sounds fair. I only have one request, you have to give me a lead on this information." Naruto knew the fox would do this or there would be no deal and with this bit of information whatever it was Naruto would have an advantage.

The fox looked at Naruto baffled. That was his request, the fox had to struggle to hold it's laughter in. **"IT IS DONE." **The fox laid a claw through the bars and said. **"TOUCH MY CLAW TO VERIFY THE DEAL AND THEN I WILL GIVE YOU A ... CLUE." **He saw Naruto start moving forward and was stunned by the boy's simple mindedness. The fox showed no sign of emotion, he stopped Naruto in his tracks. **"HOWEVER, KNOW THAT IF YOU FAIL. YOU LOOSE ALL RIGHTS TO PROTEST WHENEVER I CALL YOU A FOOL." **The fox expected a moment of hesitation, a moment where Naruto questioned himself, but that moment never came and Naruto strode forward. The fox smiled at this, he wondered how Naruto would react to his touch.

Naruto heard the fox and knew instantly it was a tactic to make him doubt himself it didn't work though. He reached out with a loose fist and saw it moving closer to the Kyubiis claw. However about an inch away he felt as if his body entered a forcefield and the next instant as his skin came into contact with the Kyubii's claw he felt a tsunami of energy surge through him. It felt like a fire enveloping his every nerve and yet never burning. Naruto felt the fox pull his claw back and for a second did not know whether to be thankful or pissed about it. He staggered momentarily, but recovered quickly. "What the hell was that?" He asked himself.

The fox not caring if the question was directed at him answered anyway. **"SUB-CONSCIOUS CHAKRA." **The fox stood up then and spoke to Naruto as he began to turn. **"YOU ALREADY HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO FULLFILL MY REQUEST." **The fox then began laughing loudly as he walked away.

Naruto rushed forward energy coursing all through him and stopped just short of the bars and yelled at the fox. "What the hell kind of clue is that?! That doesn't help me at all!" There was no response forthcoming, only the fox's laughter could be heard on the other side of the bars. Naruto felt extremely frustrated ,but knes that was all he was going to gain from this visit. He decided to return to his chambers. He he returned to his body he was somewhat surprised to find himself sitting up. He guessed that surge of energy from the fox must have caused his body to sit up. He looked around and lay back down. He had a lot on his mind that he needed to sort out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Out in the forest the sky was beginning to darken and Jiraiya had set out dinner for everyone. They had all sat down and were now eating. Jiraiaya couldn't shake the feeling that the atmosphere had changed ever so minutely recently. He expected a change like this, but not this soon. He wondered if it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He began to serve himself, but the nagging sensation simply would not leave him alone. He decided it was better safe than sorry. He turned to Hinata and made a request. "Hinata, could you please do a quick scan of the vicinity?" He asked in a conversational tone which hid his concern.

Hinata put down her plate and nodded. "Hai." She quickly activated her blood-limit and began scanning her surrounding areas. She scanned briefly not seeing anything out of the ordinary. She turned off her limit and told Jiraiya her findings. "Nothing out of the ordinary Jiraiya-san." She said thinking nothing of it. Shino on the other hand wasn't so sold on the act. Jiraiya had never made this request and to start now out of the blue and so casually without any forewarning did not sit well with Shino. He too didn't want to raise suspicion so he couldn't release a large quantity of insects, but he did send out a few to see if everything was in fact in order.

Hinata's news did not settle Jiraiya's insecurities either. However he thanked her. "Arigatou, Hinata. Let's dig in." He picked up his plate, acting as if nothing was bothering him. On the inside however his mind was racing with paranoia. He put some food in his mouth as everything clicked and he realized it was already to late. The change in the atmosphere made him suspicious and he should have automatically trusted his instincts, but he had simply been to confident that they wouldn't have to deal with any problems so soon. He should have trusted his gut. They were near and they were aware of team 8s presence, they could probably be watching him right now. Jiraiya let out a sigh as the concoction which had been put in his food began taken effect and quickly. His conscious thoughts slowed to a crawl and the desire to sleep began to overwhelm him. He put down his bowl and hoped they would be able to handle themselves. He knew they hadn't had their food spiked like his because they were still awake and aware. He fought off the sleep and raised his arm to get their attention. They were already looking at him since he put his bowl down. They were actually already going to his aid, but his thoughts were working so slowly now the fact barely registered. He felt himself slowly beginning to slouch and lean back. Damn it he thought to himself he should have began to prepare them for this sooner. He searched his brain for the most important advice he could think of. His mind was working at a snails pace and the only thing he could think was for them to stay together. He voiced this last thought as his back hit the ground. Shino, Kiba, and Hinata were already standing over him as his last conscious words escaped his lips. "Stay... to..ge...ther... is." Barely audible. Shino and Hinata did not hear what he said, they just saw his lips barely move.

Kiba on the other hand heard Jiraiya perfectly. He repeated what he heard for Hinata and Shino, but also to try to make sense of it himself. "Stay together... is? What's that supposed to mean? Is what?" He said in a questioning voice. Akamaru was now right next to him and Kiba had his hand resting on his head.

Hinata quickly checked his vitals and told them her findings. Even though she was not a medical ninja she was well versed in the human body and while she could not identify what was wrong she could identify if anything was wrong. "His heart rate is stable, there's nothing out of the ordinary. He's just... in a deep sleep." She wanted to add that she thought it wasn't self induced, but she noticed Shino getting up at that moment and waited to see what he was about to do.

Shino began walking towards his gourd as he spoke. "It seems that Jiraiya had some foreboding about this happening. I don't know how much, but he told us what he must believe was the most important point. That is that we remain together as a unit against whatever obstacles we are ab-" At that moment he was reaching for his gourd when suddenly he heard a Hinata begin to yell and as he spun around what seemed to be a ten foot wall of ice ran across his vision. As he took a step towards it he noticed a deep mist rising from the ground. He stopped in his tracks noticing that the mist was growing unnaturally thick with incredible speed. In the span of fifteen seconds he was no longer able to see the wall of ice due to the thickness of the mist.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Half an hour earlier deeper in the same forest two figures were sitting finishing up their meal. One figure stood up, a girl. She had light caramel colored skin and straight pitch black hair that fell loosely to her shoulders, sporadic blond streaks ran through her hair. She stretched out her arms toned, however they were wrapped in white bandages from her underarms to her wrists, under her deltoids she wore a pair of straps containing various weapons among other things. She wore a light thin light brown v-collar vest and a black school uniform skirt that came down to right above her knees. Her legs were very well toned, again however they were covered. She wore thick camouflage stockings that came up under the skirt and on her feet she wore thick leather sandals. She smiled and a dimples appeared on her cheeks. A gleam shone in her shockingly bright gray eyes as she spoke to her companion. "You'll never guess who's nearby." She said as reached down and picked up a vinny and slid it over her head and right down to atop her eyes. On the front it had the plate of the hidden village of the mist.

Her companion a boy with the same complexion and eyes looked up casually and asked. "Who?" This boy sub-consciously reached up towards his face and stopped himself, he has a large band-aid on his nose and one on his cheek. He was also wearing a bandanna that covered his mouth partially and a dark blue vest. Underneath he wore a long sleeve black shirt. He stood up and as he did a loose belt at his waist moved down carried down by the weight of a hilt and a sword. The hilt was dark blue with intricate designs. He too wore camouflage shorts. He wore thick plain sandals.

The girl smiled a mischievous smile and replied. "Jiraiya-san." The girl reached over and ruffled the boys long silky black hair and said. "We gotta go see him!"

The boy became solemn for a moment and then said. "But we're on a mission. We'd be killed if we failed." He stood in deep thought awaiting to see how his companion would react.

She did so promptly. "Pshht, you're to serious Kino. Besides, it's not like we were guaranteed success... let's call this a small detour." She bent over and quickly scooped up her small traveling pack and slung it over her shoulders. Before her companion could react she was swiftly walking towards her destination and yelled back. "Hurry the hell up!" Her companion quickly began gathering his things as well. He slid some goggles over his forehead on the side of the goggles on the thick straps were two mist plates. As he finally made his way after his companion the recurring thought in his head was. Why is this girl so damn impulsive.

Fifteen minutes later they were standing about a hundred yards away from where Jiraiaya and the others were setting up camp. Kino arrived in time to see his companion looking through the binoculars. He stealthily walked up next to her and heard her giggle and say. "Oh yeah, I'm gonna get him." She was very tense as she looked through the binoculars.

Kino's eyes widened slightly and he asked. "Is Naruto with him, Kanu?" He turned toward the direction that Kanu was staring at and scanned the area. He didn't see the familiar blond hair of Naruto. He wondered what it was that Kanu was staring at.

Kanu pulled the binoculars away from her eyes and turned towards Kino. There was a stream of blood flowing from her nose. "What did you say?"

He looked at her and pointed something out to her. "Your nose is bleeding Kanu. Are you okay?" He asked genuinely concerned.

She paid no mind to that as she absently wiped away the blood. "Never mind that." She said enthusiastically. "Here's the plan. First we need to make some of our knockout powder for Jiraiaya and then." She stopped when she saw Kino was looking at her with a perplexed expression on his face. "What, you don't trust me? When have I ever mislead you?" She saw he was about to start thinking and quickly moved on. "I've already analyzed this situation and this is the best course of action. Don't worry if anything goes wrong I'll take full responsibility. So... as I was saying? Oh that's right our course of action. So here we go first..."

As she began explaining her plan Kino couldn't help, but question her motives. He couldn't gather his thoughts however as she was already full flight into the plan. Also, he had no choice as she was his elder sister and when it came to strategies she was much more effective with their intricacies than he was. He only hoped it worked out in their favor.

**PREVIEW**

Who are these new characters and what is their purpose? How do they know Jiraiya? Naruto's eminent date with the demon fox draws closer, will he find the answers he needs?

Hmmm, I thought I would interject some interaction into this, the first person who can guess what the fox is after can name a character, please no way out there names if you get it because I will use whatever name I'm given.

**RSO'S**

drkchidragon- Are you serious, can't I just leave it like that? Lol, you don't like cliffhangers? I simply love them. Let's out an evil laugh. Nope same Kyubii, they do have histories previously to being trapped. The story related to the fox was from ancient times. Yup, that was a dream, but I wanted it to trip people up so thanx for letting me know my purpose was fulfilled.

danny- Oh the drama with Hirai is far from over. Yeah, Naruto (Author) does have faith in people lol. Thanx, I'll be exploring them as the story goes on, so hopefully I can satisfy everyones thirst. Thanx, I thought I needed to interject a little bit of humor. Sorry Hinata. Oh, it's not as long as you think now. Thanx for the kind words, I'll try my best.

crakbaby-Thank you, I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things, don't loose faith in me.

dragonman- Sorry to disappoint, but we'll learn somethings about the Kyubii soon enough.

Vld- Ghaaaaaa!! Stop giving away so many clues! Geez, it's almost like you're trying to make me have to use my imagination to not do what you think is gonna happen.

crazygirlofmanynames- Yup, but will he get them?

narashikamaru- yup,yup. Shame on you. lol, j/k. Man, yeah love is a complicated thing. Oh man poor Naruto is gonna find out just how complicated it can be pretty soon. Muahahahaha.

causeiambetta- thanx alot for the kind words, they really mean alot to me.

sdarian- Sorry, I'll try to do so as soon as I can.

crashboy- Don't feel bad, it's good motivation for me knowing people want to keep reading. Thanx for posting a review.

lightning bob- Soon, soon. Man I know it sounds old after a while, but it should hopefully be soon. Beta as the program or better reader? You can message me with what you mean if you want and I'll see what I can do.

dmitri- I'm so sorry, I know I'm bad with that. So bad with grammar, but I'm trying. Don't give up on me.

yojimbojango- Oh, it's not that bad. Guess I need to work on making my cliffhangers better. Lol. LMAO, I'm sorry, but Naruto and smooth just... I think thats funny. For now. As for the question, no the necklace was for protection.


	45. Chapter 45

Where do I begin? It has been forever since I was able to continue this story. To those who have been waiting, my sincerest apologies. Circumstances in my life disallowed me to continue, however, while I would love to go into a sob story, I would rather keep writing. So I will only say this, I wasn't able to access my story, nor the internet for a long time. However recently I was able to re-copy my story and pick up where I left off. It's strange, I am a stream of conscious writer, so everything that came to mind went down on paper or screen so to speak. So as I begin again I have to find my stream and to do so I had to re-read everything I had written. Trust me, I was shocked at how much I had written. 44 and a half chapters, I say the half because even though I had written it my dumb self didn't save it. That is okay though, because the story never left me and I have had ideas percolating in my mind so hopefully now I am able to add more aspects to the ideas. Upon re-reading I realized the depths of my passion for writing and my desire to convey my ideas. While I realize this is not mine, but Naruto's story, I hope to fulfill it to a good narrative. I hope everyone will bear with me as I trudge forward. To those who read it as I update plow through tons of stuff. I apologize and hope everyone will still enjoy the story;

**KINOS INTRODUCTION TO HINATA AND KIBA**

Hinata saw the wall of ice and quickly knew that they needed to get to the other side to re-unite with Shino. She looked at Kiba and said with authority, "Cover me!" Kiba nodded and proceeded to do that. Hinata searched her mind and quickly remembered the fire summoning technique she had picked up from Jiraiya. She quickly formed her seals and put her hand to her mouth. Her chest expanding already, she began to breathe fire against the wall of ice. Almost immediately the ice began melting.

Behind her Kiba and Akamaru noticed their enemy moving towards them. Kino saw their plan with ease and was not about to let it succeed. "Gomen, but I can't let you get to the other side." He said as he walked towards Kiba.

Kiba reacted instantly. "Like hell your gonna stop us!" He was about to start forming seals when their mysterious opponent flickered right next to him and launched a punch that connected with Kiba's jaw. Kiba's seal progression was stopped as he fell to the ground. Anger immediately rising in him, but it was to late. Kino had flickered again and was out of Kiba's field of vision. Kino appeared next to Hinata and performed a simple leg sweep. Hinata was almost to the other side when she felt the kick knocking out her leg from underneath her. Her jutsu was broken as she reacted to catch herself. She turned on her blood limit as she went down and saw the fist coming towards her.

She was barely able to parry her opponents attack. Suddenly her attacker was hit. He had been hit by Akamaru who was aware of what was going on and targeted Kino. Akamaru knocked him to the ground and rolled off him. The attack knocked Kino to the ground and as he rolled back up Kiba and Hinata had recovered. When they were all on their feet again, it was in fighting stances. Hinata's anger rose and she was ready for the confrontation. "Who are you?!" even though she asked the question, she had already identified him as the enemy.

Kino had not expected Akamaru to take action. He rolled up and stood up quickly enough to hear the question though. He was never sure if questions were serious or not so he always answered them as if they were serious. "My name is Kino, Gomen, ano, I can't let you to the other side though. That was the mission given to me." He had meant to give a more thorough explanation, but was not allowed. He began crouching while pulling out his sword at the same time with blinding speed. Kiba had launched himself at Kino intending to knock him back to where ever he came from when his fist made contact with the flat side of Kino's sword. At the contact everyone jumped back a ways and were once again set in their fighting stances. As Kiba jumped back Kino re-sheathed his sword and stood back up. Kiba had been improving on the technique Jiraiya had taught him and then began working his seals. Hinata saw this and kept alert in case Kino decided to attack.

Kino had no intention to attack, he only needed to keep them occupied for a while. How long he wasn't sure, but he was certain he could complete the mission. Kiba finished his seals and then placed his hand on Akamaru's head. Akamaru's hair grew slightly and stiffened. "Alright Akamaru, let's get this bastard!" He said though clenched teeth.

Kino heard this insult though and replied calmly. "There's no need to slander me." He said clearly, more to himself than his opponents.

Nevertheless Kiba picked up the comment with ease and yelled back, "Screw you, as far as I'm concerned you're a bastard." As Kiba said this a sense of calm fell over him. This was a real situation, Jiraiya wasn't around and he knew they had to succeed. As he remembered Jiraiya another realization came to him. Hinata had been totally right, he had acted like an idiot, not fighting Jiraiya to his full potential may have actually hindered him. Even the lone jutsu he had learned from him was about to aid him. He didn't feel remorse, but he did pause before continuing his attack.

Before Kiba attacked Kino let out a laugh. "I see that Jiraiya has a knack for picking up loudmouths." He looked at Kiba smirking as he continued, "However can you back up your words the same way Naruto-san could?" Kino knew they should recognize the name, how could they not. Naruto was after all their future Hokage. Hinata's eyes widened slightly at this and while curiosity rose she was able to hold it at bay and keep her mind on the task.

Kiba however had a surge of emotion... Naruto-san? What the hell was this joker trying to say! He kept his emotions in check however and replied. "There's only one way to find out. Akamaru, Garouga!" At Kibas words Akamaru began running towards the enemy.

Kino may not be the tactical genius in battle as his sister, but when it came to combat he surpassed her abilities with ease. As Akamaru was taking his first steps Kino was already forming a long series of seals. He quickly knelt and hit the ground. Then as Akamaru began spinning towards him he quickly launched four kunnais at the spinning torpedo that was Akamaru heading towards him. Kiba smiled at this knowing the kunnais would be ineffectual, his smile didn't disappear as he saw none of them would hit Akamaru. However it did disappear as all four exploded as they passed Akamaru. They had all been thrown to the side of Akamaru and as the explosion went off the force of the blast sent Akamaru violently off course, his spinning stopped as he slammed into the wall of ice. Because of the hardened hair jutsu his fur penetrated the ice and he stuck there. Akamaru did not loose consciousness on contact so the jutsu held and he was stuck. Kiba quickly began forming seals and in a puff off smoke two Kibas came charging out. One charging at Kino the other headed to aid Akamaru.

Hinata watched all this from her vantage point and saw all the seals the boy had performed. She quickly imitated some of his seals and was successful in forming a water clone. She saw him continue forming seals and waited this time, wanting to see the seals purpose. She kept all the seals in mind, but did not think a mist summoning would aid them in this situation. She noticed the mist rising with alarming speed. She and her clone quickly began forming seals and felt the familiar sensation of her chest expanding.

Kiba performed his beast mimic technique as he ran towards Kino and was now on four legs he noticed the mist rising, but gave it no thought. He could compensate for loss of vision with his other senses. His clone had reached Akamaru and was now trying to pull him out. Kino had leaped back a few times to buy himself some time. His eyes changed as he moved around. The pupils disappeared and only the gray was now visible. He focused on Kiba's hands and feet which were running through the mist and made a grabbing motion. Suddenly Kiba who had been going full speed crashed to the ground. The pain of slamming to the ground shocked Kiba, but as he looked down he saw his hands and feet encased in blocks of ice that formed rudimentary handcuffs. He got up on his knees and raised his hands above his head. Then he violently brought them down to smash against the ground, but nothing not even a crack on the ice.

He swung toward Akamaru to see if he was out of the ice. He saw his clone helping him to his feet they had been successful. Kiba saw Kino out of the corner of his eyes. He made a bee-line to the clone and without stopping delivered a devastating blow. His punch coming out the other side of the smoke. Then with equally blinding speed Akamaru swung his sizeable paw and slammed into Kino. Akamaru's paw though lost contact with Kino as water fell to the ground. Kiba's eyes widened. 'A water clone!' he thought. Suddenly a voice spoke casually into his ear making him jump. "I didn't expect him to possess that much speed. That blow looked like it would have broken some ribs. It's almost over now though." Kino said as he reached out towards Akamaru and once again made made the grabbing motion. Akamarus back legs were suddenly encased in the same rudimentary ice-cuffs as Kiba. His front paws however were encased in individual blocks of ice. Kiba's frustration was rising. However the stranger only continued. "Gomen, I'll leave a clone to make sure you guys don't try anything funny. Your other companion is quite skilled and I think she just eliminated my last clone." Kino said. He formed his seals and there was another Kino standing next to him. He then made his way over to where Hinata was.

Hinata meanwhile had successfully dispersed the mist near her. She then had her clone continue the task of melting the ice wall. She saw what was happening with Kiba and Akamaru, but saw three Kino water clones trying to sneak up on her. She quickly formed her seals and another Hinata appeared next to her. Another water Hinata. She saw the Kunnai's the three Kino clones launched and launched Kunnai's of her own. She threw three that intercepted the three headed towards the fire breathing Hinata. She and her clone deftly picked off the three Kunnai's headed towards each of them and with a flicked of the wrist threw them back the direction they had come from. Hinata assessed the situation and ran to guard her fire breathing clone. She got there in time, just as the Kino clone did as well. The Kino clone was focused on getting the fire breathing Hinata and had a Kunnai out. He didn't notice the real Hinata racing at him. He was in the act of launching his hand to stab Hinata in the back when suddenly his hand was slapped down. He was beginning to turn as a hand slammed to the back of his neck. Open palm Hinata used the clones momentum to slam him into the ground head first. He shattered into water as he made contact with the ground. Hinata had no time to re-set as the other clone had taken aim at her. She quickly spun on her feet still in crouching position performing a sweep. The clone saw this and jumped his momentum carrying him over her. Hinata was in an awkward position, but successfully parried Kino's kunnai and delivered an open palm blow that was powerful enough to break the jutsu. As she fell to the ground the water of the clone soaked her. Her fire breathing clone stopped momentarily and spun around. She stood guard as Hinata got back to her feet. Hinata ran to the hole her clone had created. It was big enough to crawl though. Hinata scanned the other side to find Shino. She spotted him and the scene she saw was unexpected. Shino was not alone, but he was not fighting either. She didn't know what that meant, but knew she had to get his attention. "SHINO!!" She didn't know what she was going to say next, but at that moment she jerked back. She looked down the length of the wall to see Kinno standing there. This was no clone.

Kino arrived to see the scene awaiting him and was not happy. Had the girl squeezed through the hole to the other side, he would have failed. However her precaution had saved him, she was scanning the other side. He quickly ran to the wall and heard her yell as he slammed his hand open palmed to the wall. He saw her jerk back as the hole in front of her closed up and was once again solid ice. Kino spoke in a tense voice now. "I told you I couldn't let you through. Gomen." Hinata was watching him intently. "You were very effective against my clones, lets see how you deal with the real thing." He stretched his hands towards her two clones. How, she wondered, how did he know which ones were the clones. She saw his eyes though, without pupils she was about to face another blood limit user. She didn't know what his limit was. She saw her two clones solidify and turn to ice sculptures. "Hai, my blood limit helped me with that. However I don't think I will need it to deal with you." He said as he reached towards his sword hilt. They were both sizing each other up neither was unaware of their surroundings.

Suddenly a shout broke the tension. "BAKA!!" Kino heard the yell and before he even had time to look the direction of the noise pain exploded in his jaw. His lower mandible seemed to be dislocated by the fist pushing it to the other side of his face, suddenly the rest of his head and body followed. He flew towards the wall and slammed into it hard. He hit it hard enough that his body made an indention in the wall and he stuck there. He was no longer conscious. The wall began to crumble as it's creator could no longer hold it together.

Hinata had been stunned, she had not seen Jiraiya unleash such a devastating punch before. "J-Jiraiya-san. Nani, w-what happened." She asked as she began walking towards him and turned her blood limit off. She began to run though as she saw what he was doing and yelled "Stop Jiraiya-san! Please!"

Jiraiya was about to keep yelling at Kino when he saw he was unconscious. He walked over to him and pulled him out the wall. Kino's body fell to the ground as Jiraiya now had his giant scroll in his hands. "Baka! Wake the hell up!" He yelled as he began beating the unconscious form on the ground with the scroll. Lifting the scroll and slamming it on Kino violently and with blinding speed. He didn't notice or hear Hinata as he was doling out a brutal beating. He may have kept going, but Hinata had finally reached him and had grabbed his scroll before he could bring it down again. "Nani, Hinata... just one more for good measure." He pleaded. Hinata however didn't let go of the scroll. Jiraiya sighed his anger disappearing. "Fine." He said as he put up the scroll. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. However Jiraiya would not be denied his final lick. He saw Hinata relax and without warning planted his foot and field goal kicked Kino's lifeless form into the wall once again. There he thought, now he felt better. He quickly turned to face Hinata's horrified face and said, "That's it it's over, gomen Hinata, I didn't mean to distress you." He didn't mean it though, had Hinata not been there he would have continued to beat Kino's lifeless body up even more.

Hinata was shocked at Jiraiya's actions and even though he assured her it was now over she didn't let her guard down. How could he be so cruel she wondered to herself, but that was a question better taken care of later. She quickly explained the situation to him. "Jiraiya-san, we were separated from Shino. He's on the other side of this wall and Kiba was captured. I-I have a lot of questions, but the only one that really matters now is what should we do?" She looked at Jiraiya expectantly.

Jiraiya knew now they weren't in any real danger. He let out a long sigh as he began to explain what was about to happen. "With Kino knocked out Kiba shouldn't be held for long as all Kino's jutsus have been broken. The wall should finish falling apart soon and we should be able to find Shino and more than likely this brat's sister. Don't worry Hinata we're not in any real danger. These two know better than to really piss me off." There was something now that Jiraiya wanted to find out from these two and god help whoever had been the culprit. His mind flashed back to the many times Naruto had used this potion on him. That blond haired bastard! Jiraiya had never been sure where he had learned that concoction, but after so much repeated use of it on him Jiraiya had finally built a high tolerance for it. Now here in front of him was the answer. Either Kino or Kanu or both had taught Naruto this potion. A vain was pulsing on his head at the amount of times Naruto had gotten him. Retribution would be sweet, he thought.

Hinata's question broke into his thoughts. "So you know this person? Jiraiya-san?" She asked. That was an obvious question Hinata thought, as Jiraiya had named the culprit without having heard his introduction.

Jiraiya looked at his new team mate and answered. "Hai, Hinata I know him and his sister Kanu. Me and Naruto trained with them and their master for a while during our travels. As a matter of fact, their master is the one we seek on our mission." He paused before going on. "I didn't expect to meet them this far away from our destination. I had planned to get you all ready for them soon, but I'm assuming they were on a mission as how far they are from their home. Bad luck I guess. Now it's too late." Jiraiya chuckled, they had handled the situation well considering the circumstances. "Now let's get Kiba and then find Shino." Jiraiya said. He then bent over Kino's still lifeless body and slung him over his shoulder. With that they set out to continue their mission.


	46. Chapter 46

Man, I didn't expect so many reviews... Thanx though they're always welcome. I don't know if I'll be able to reply to all of them, but I'll try. What else. Oh please let me know what matchup you would rather see. Lee vs. Naruto pre-deal, or Naruto vs. Gaara post-deal.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

**KANU AND SHINO'S MEETING**

Shino seeing the situation quickly grabbed the gourd and slung it over his shoulder. He then ran towards the wall. He stopped however, he thought he heard someone yelling his name. He turned in the direction of the sound and listened carefully. Then he heard it again. "INO... KINO! Where are you?!" Kino? Shino didn't know who this was, but whoever was calling for him was female. It made sense to him that he thought it was his name being called, as they sounded so alike. He began walking towards the voice hoping to gather information. As he drew closer he noted the desperation in the yells increasing. He assumed that the person yelling wasn't the enemy by the way she was yelling, but he drew out a pair of kunnai's just in case. He walked quickly and cautiously. He worried about his team, but had faith they could handle themselves. However just to be on the safe side he sent out a few of his insects to see if they could locate them. Finally after a short walk he finally came up on the girl that had been making the ruckus. She had given up yelling and pulled her fist back and delivered a hard punch to the wall. Nothing happened, the girl began pulling her fist back again when Shino walked up behind her. Kanu sensed Shino approaching quickly, but didn't acknowledge him until he was closer. She didn't know anything about this guy except that he was so mysterious and sexy. She noted that if not for the mist he might have actually snuck up on her without her noticing. She quickly spun when he was about fifteen yards away from her pulling out a kunnai and pointing it at him. In an angry voice she demanded, "Who the hell are you?!"

Shino approached her not really knowing what course of action he should take. He approached regardless sure that something would come to mind. He noted her outfit and thought it was different. He was curious about the bandages. As he drew closer he wondered if she would notice him as she was pre-occupied. He was thinking of how best to get her attention when she suddenly spun and had a kunnai pointed at him and demanded he identify himself. He looked first at the kunnai then looked at her face. He hadn't intended intended to make eye contact, but when he did his breath caught in his chest. The contrast of her dark skin with her gray eyes made them seem very bright. For a second Shino thought they were glowing. Her eyes were only a few shades darker than the ice behind her. He didn't show any physical reaction though and calmly answered her question. "My name is Shino, I'm a shinobi from the village of the leaf. You are?" he asked and calmly waited as she calmed down.

She observed his every move intently. She noted he didn't react when she spun towards him. When he looked at her she thought she noted a second of hesitation, but it was so minute she may have imagined it. It didn't help that she couldn't see his eyes because of his glasses. At that moment she had the urge to take off his glasses and see the shape and shade of his eyes. However his voice broke into her thoughts before they could further develop. As he spoke she relaxed her hand, her kunnai lowered slightly. The thought streaking through her mind was, 'This guy is dangerous, with so much sexiness I might actually fall for this guy. Be very careful Kanu.' She almost stuttered her answer. "K-" She realized how he had introduced himself and answered in the same manner, pissed off about having almost stuttering, holy hell she thought, nobody makes me stutter. "My name is Kanu and I'm from the village of the mist. What are you doing here and how do I know you're not my enemy?" She asked. As she waited for the answer she thought to herself. Okay Kanu, stick to the plan, wait what was the plan? Oh yeah, steal a kiss then wham bam thank you sir, find Kino and get outta there before anyone's knows what the hell is going on.

Shino raised an eyebrow at her question. She had taken his question right out of his mouth and threw it at him first. He had hoped to ask her first and then decide how to proceed. Since she asked him he saw no reason not to be honest. "You don't and there's probably nothing I can say to dissuade you. The only way to find out is to take a risk and see where it leads. What about you, is there any argument you want to make to aid me in determining your trust worthiness?" Shino asked. He knew he was at a disadvantage because she could now simply flip the answer against him. He was not disappointed.

Nice answer she thought to herself. She noted two things. This guy is smart and cunning. She answered knowing that this was going to be a challenge. "I'm willing to take a risk." She paused and began working her plan, "but what I could really use is a hand." She paused to see how he would react.

Shino had already assessed the situation and realized she had been separated from someone and was in the same dilemma as him. He waited for her to continue wanting to know some specifics of what was going on. When she didn't he prompted her. "Continue, please."

Smooth and polite she thought. He didn't give her any information about his own situation even though she had set it up so they would have something in common right off the bat. She had hoped to learn his relationship with the girl. She knew she wouldn't know now without raising any suspicions. She began her explanation. "My brother and I were returning from a relatives house, when this wall came out of no where to separated us." She didn't like the look of curiosity the stranger was wearing. She hadn't thought this through that well and was now about to plunge ahead and pick up the pieces as she went. She hoped to be able to accomplish this without having to fight, but if it came to that she would get her kiss one way or another. Of that she was sure.

Shino looked at the wall and judged the thickness to be about three to four feet thick. He made this assessment before the mist became so thick. He also saw the wall was about ten feet in height, but could no longer be sure because of the thick mist. However the answer she had given him didn't explain something. He walked to the wall and put his hand on it. He looked at her and asked his question. "What were you and your brother doing? This wall is pretty thick, how far apart were you two?" He turned to her when he asked this question and then returned his gaze to the ice. He was searching for a shadow or darker area in the ice. The reason was he was trying to see if her brother had actually been trapped in the ice. He didn't think it likely now as he saw no shadow. He then turned to her to hear her answer.

When he had his back to her he didn't see her brow furrow in concentration. Dammit she thought she hadn't thought he would be that observant. Her mind raced for a suitable explanation. As soon as it hit her he turned towards her again. She had her answer ready and gave it to him. "We were racing. I'm not sure how far back he was." In a stroke of genius after observing him looking at the wall she added. "I searched the wall for shadows or dark spots to see if he had been trapped. Once I confirmed he wasn't there I tried to break through to the other side. I'm not strong enough however and now I don't know how he's doing." She put urgency into her voice as she continued. "Please help me..." She paused and waited to see if he gave her the answer she was looking for.

Shino quickly realized she was waiting for an introduction and not an affirmative. He didn't think it too wise to give her his name, but time was of the essence and they both shared a common purpose. "Shino, and you."

She repeated his name. "Shino." Damn that sounds hot, she thought. The fact that it was so similar to her brother's name which was the most un-sexy name was the furthest thing from her mind. "my name is Kanu. I'm sorry to cut the pleasantries short, but I really need your answer." She said.

Shino saw her point and had started worrying when one of his insects reported that Kiba and Hinata had been separated and were being confronted. "Hai." He said. "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

She didn't take long to respond. "Let me jump off your shoulder and see if I can clear it. If anything at least we can figure out this things height. When I first saw it it looked about ten feet. I know that I can clear that height easily, but because of this mist I can't see how tall it is anymore. It might have grown." She said.

Shino saw reason in this it was well thought out as a pre-cursory measure. He also took a glance and saw how toned her legs were and thought she could probably get more height than him. "Hai. How far from the wall do you want me to stand." he asked.

She saw him glance at her legs and once again wished she could see his eyes to see if he appreciated how nice they looked. She took pride in not having chicken legs and knew he had to like it, but couldn't be sure because of those damn glasses. However, her answer came quickly. "Give me about four feet." she saw him do as she asked and then went and stood against the wall. She took a deep breath and asked, "Ready." She saw him nod through the mist. She pulled her leg back and bent it towards her butt in an imitation of stretching, but in reality closed her eyes so he wouldn't see her turn her blood limit on and quickly created a paper thin layer of ice on the bottom of her sandals. She did the same thing with the other leg, but didn't create the layer of ice this time. Now she was ready she said. "Hai, let's do this then." She saw him nod once again. A man of few words she thought to herself. She gathered herself and jumped. Shino didn't know why she had positioned herself between himself and the ice and not on the other side of him to get a running start. However this wasn't the time to argue as time was of the essence. He could only assume she knew what she was doing. She jumped and planted the foot with the ice on it on his shoulder. He did not budge, but quickly reacted as her foot slipped off his shoulder. He leaned back and caught her as she fell. However her weight and momentum carried them both to the ground. She landed on top of him and knocked the wind out of him. As she had fallen Shino had put his arms out to catch her and hooked them under hers as she fell. That had gone smoother than she had expected. Because he had leaned back she was now laying right on top of him. She could feel his muscles through the thick jacket. She knocked his hood back as she fell and saw his unruly hair. She had the strongest urge to run her fingers through his hair. She was barely able to stop her hand as it drew closer to his hair. She buried her head in his jacket as she tried to gather herself. She had not expect to be this... what was the word ero-sennin had used... then she remembered. Turned on, that was the word she was looking for, even his smell was pleasant. Suddenly his voice broke into her thoughts.

Shino quickly recovered his breath and asked Kanu. "Are you okay?"

She lifted her face and looked at his face and began. "I-I" can't think clearly she thought. Dammit she thought this was the perfect opportunity to steal that kiss and yet, and yet. What the hell was wrong with her she wondered. Why had she stuttered. She answered confidently this time. "I'm fine Shino. Arigatou." She felt him begin to stir, trying to indicate that he wanted to get up. She pushed herself up and was now sitting on him with her legs around his waist. Before he could begin pushing himself up however she put her hands together on the jacket and asked. "Why are you wearing shades Shino?" What she really wanted to do was rip his jacket off and let her eyes feast on the muscles she had felt underneath her just a few seconds ago.

Shino had not expected this question and it bothered him. In this situation that should have been the least of her worries. He quickly voiced this thought. "Under the circumstances we should accomplish our goal as swiftly as possible. We both have important people at risk." Shino thought her actions recently were suspicious. He asked a question not really caring what her answer was, but rather how she answered it. "Aren't you worried about your brother?" He asked.

She moved to get off him lost in thought. She was usually not bothered being reprimanded, but for some reason this guy actually made her feel kinda weird about it. She heard his question as she began pushing herself back onto her feet. In the back of her mind her answer was no. She was very confident Kino wouldn't be hurt, but knew that wasn't the answer he was looking for. She let out a sigh and said. "Hai, Gomen Shino-kun."

Shino raised the eyebrow noting the added honorific this time. It never bothered him about it, but he noticed she hadn't used it until now. However the way she answered showed no real concern for her sibling. As soon as she gave him enough room to get up he took that opportunity. He quickly got to his feet. As soon as he was upright he heard Hinata yelling his name. "Hinata!" He looked around to the source. His eyes landed on a spot where it looked like the ice was re-sealing itself. "Dammit!" He muttered to himself. He now suspected that Kanu, whoever she was, was working with whoever was on the other side of the wall. He had to act quickly. His mind racing to formulate a plan. It didn't take but a few seconds and all the while he kept his eyes on Kanu who was also staring intently at him.

She saw his reaction of worry when he heard the other girls voice. She felt a pang of jealousy quickly followed by remorse. She had got so caught up in the moment she didn't even think about it. No way this hottie was single and stealing kisses from guys that were taken was taboo to her. She had been so impulsive for some reason. She saw the way his brow furrowed in concentration and knew she was about to fight. A few moments ago she had been willing to fight to steal that kiss, but now that she was calming down she realized she didn't want to fight him. Also the realization of what they had done to Jiraiya and the fear of what would happen to them if she made the situation worse began to dawn on her. She looked down to the ground and muttered to herself. "Baka!" suddenly she had a flashback.

Kanu was sitting with her sensei. Jiraiya had taken Kino to train with Naruto. She and her master were sitting on a dock fishing. Kanu's sensei asked her this. "Kanu, why did you try to steal a kiss from Naruto?"

Kanu smiled remembering that event, she had been close. However she began to dig through her backpack until she found what she was looking for. She brought out a stack of papers and flipped through them. When she found what she was looking for she began to read out loud. "The exhilaration she felt when their lips touched was beyond belief. She never thought such an explosion of emotion would be possible from such simple contact. Maybe it had been due to the chase that had preceded it, she had worked to get this and it made it all the more sweeter." She paused as she noticed her master's hand reach out asking for the papers. "Well anyways, I wanted to feel that. So..." She saw her master rise to a sitting position, so she handed over the pile of papers she had taken from Jiraiya-san. She thought about going on, but wanted to hear what her master would say.

Her master took the pages and flipped through them quickly with a raised eyebrow and an amused expressiong. After flipping through it the first question was "Does Jiraiya know you took this?" Kanu shook her head. Her master praised her now. "Impressive, but foolish, don't try to fool with Jiraiya again. If I'm not around who knows what'll happen to your lil' ass." Her master let out a long sigh, contemplating how to go about this before asking. "Did your actions make you feel good?"

Kanu's face lit up as she answered. "Yup, I mean it is a challenge! I thought I would accomplish it easily, but it's hard work to get it." She furrowed her brow in concentration trying to think of a cool saying for this situation. "Screw good things come to those who wait, it should be the harder it is to the attain the more rewarding it is!" She raised her index finger to her lips then added. "Well at least I think, I'll let you know as soon as I claim my first kiss." She smiled a huge kool-aid smile and stuck out the peace sign to show it was all great.

Kanu was smiling so big her eyes were closed and didn't notice the vain on her masters forehead. Her master was cursing Jiraiya. 'Damn you Jiraiya, why did you have to corrupt my innocent hime. (princess) I'll pay you back for this somehow' Kanu's master then let out a sigh and calmed down. Then proceeded to try and impart some wisdom on Kanu. "I wouldn't recommend doing this too much." Kanu's master knew better than to say at all, because that was like encouragement to Kanu. "There will come a day when you meet someone that will make you feel something you can't explain."

Kanu was listening intently and butted it. "Why not?"

A vain appeared on her masters forehead. "What the hell kind of question it that! Don't interrupt me til' I'm done, bakanu!! Do it again and I'll nail your ass to the bottom side of this dock!!" Boomed her master's voice.

Kanu blurted out a question impulsively. "For how long?"

Fire erupted behind her master out of nowhere, a look of pure evil staring back at Kanu. Kanu cowered and began apologizing fervently. "Gomen, gomen, gomen, it won't happen again, I am such a Bakanu, heh heh, gomen, please forgive me." her eyes had become puppy dog eyes as she pleaded with her master so as not to be nailed on the bottom of the dock.

Her master paid her little mind, instead getting composed and continuing calmly, not noticing the huge sweat drop on the back of Kanu's head. "like I was saying, your tactics are cunning and manipulative, but whenever you meet this person all your planning will fall before you like leaves from the trees. This person will likely become an important person to you, will you sacrifice this person for your goal, or the other way around?" Her master finished. Kanu was paying attention again, but was pissed that she couldn't ask any questions. She kept listening, but didn't really understand what her master was really trying to say.

Shino was preparing to make a bug clone to distract her while he found a way to the other side of this wall. Looking at it he knew it wouldn't be hard to climb ice after riding those bothersome amphibians. However he was not prepared for what he saw. Kanu fell limply to her knees with her head hanging. Kino's head snapped around to make sure it wasn't her technique, but instead her voice broke into his thoughts. "Gomen, Shino." The sincerity in that apology made Shino's head snap back to Kanu.

Different scenarios ran through his head, but the question was out of his mouth before he could think of the worst scenarios. "What are you talking about!?" He saw a tear roll down her cheek and his confusion grew even more. Luckily he didn't have long to wait.

For the first time in what felt like forever to Kanu she felt ashamed. "It was all my fault, I'm... gomen Shino. I didn't mean any harm. My brother won't hurt your friends I just told him to distract them and keep them from disturbing us." She then looked up and her remorse began to fade away. While she had her head down the wall had begun to crumble. Her mind sagged under the weight of what she was seeing, had Shino's friends really beat Kino. No way her mind screamed.

Shino had never been confronted with this type of situation. The emotions this girl was displaying threw him off somewhat. He followed her gaze when she raised her head and saw the wall was crumbling. His first thought was that she was undoing the wall, but then her facial expression didn't match the situation. Shino said to himself. "I wonder."

Fear began to rise in Kanu, a fear she thought she could only feel brought forth by her master, however as she saw the wall falling she caught a glimpse of three figures. She blinked not making any sense of the situation. Three why did she think she saw three figures. When she looked again there were only two. Her eyes hadn't deceived her she was sure of it. However she had this cold chill of fear spreading throughout her body. Her mind started racing, could that have been Jiraiya she wondered. No way! NO WAY! OH PLEASE NO WAY!! Her fear was now reaching panic. Suddenly everything froze. Jiraiya's voice spoke from right behind her in a conversational tone of voice that chilled her blood. "Hello... Kanu...long time no see."

**PREVIEW**

Muahahaha, I'll let your imagination run wild on this one. lol.

**RSO'S**

Cowpoo- thanx for noting the less typos. Stranger may sound masculine, but applies to both. Ummm, my stories different than the cannon, ummm, so umm you can't spoilers away for my story.

tzeentch- What? oh, lol sorry guess I gotta change that huh.

yinyangtwin1- Yup, Aun and Xephelin will be back later on. Oh Aun is gonna be uber-awesome, well at least in my head she is. Thanx for the compliment.

jedicarl.- naw, just a lot of things came between me and the story. Gomen.

krisi07- damn you a fast reader, slow down. J/P

pentium415- umm... an awesome one? I think, hope, just keep reading, no more spoilers from me. lol. I won't.

shadowkittensxcuddly- sorry.

epicweaver- sorry, oh it'll be serious yet fun. lol, besides Hinata has her pervy moments too. C'mon now peeking on Naruto? yeah. lol.

warprince2000- got it.

mr. foofoocudliepoops- lol, yeah, that one made me lol when I re-read it many times.

lifesblackrosepetalgil- thanx

sirus183- got it.

mattchew- okay.

ikidekimasanimeadik- cool, yup. Temari is just fighting for her man. lol

midorimegami- no prob.

vld- Naw don't stop guessing, I like seeing my story from other's perspectives. Hmm, I guess it's not much of a spoiler now, but they trained with Naruto for a while while they were away.

danny- He just wasn't ready I guess. Yeah, you could call them allies. lol, she's got a crush now, but it's not Naruto. lol. Close though, oh but she will be Hinata's rival in a lot of ways. lol. Thanx

causeiambetta- thanx, lol, guess you know now huh.

crazygirlofmanynames- great, ummm... yeah, they'll be developed a little more in the following chapters.

Narashikamaru21- ohohoh, I see you are being like shikamaru with your lazyness, lol. Just like Shikamaru your deductions are dead on, Shino is to sexy for his own good. lol.

dragonman180- hah, how can Kiba laugh at his savior. Besides Jiraiya has a history of being drugged. lol.

Authors note- Sorry, the next chapter is almost ready, but I don't got access to the internet much I don't know when it'll be up. Gomen, Gomen, if I make puppydog eyes will ya'll forgive me. (makes puppy dog eyes.)


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